#i went with my bf to world market today and like

[stellamancer]

if there is anything i am weak for it is small jars. especially if they are small jars filled with things.

[emptyyyyyyyyyfullhehe]

i havent went to the market to buy food for quite some time and i think this will be my summer vibe... i just order my bf to get sparkling water or some things i need and it actually makes me less stressed abt food (i always buy dumb shit when shopping or buy too much food like the world is going to end 2moro and i hate trowing away food so u kniw the overeating gene is activated xd) and now not feeling that its so goooooodddd

all i wanna do today is rant

its very hot outside but still im going for a walk and imma sweat some hehe

[renaxwrites]

Hello! Can I ask headcanons about Kuroo, Akaashi and Bokuto, who hear girls, who pretend to be friends with their girlfriend out of envy say mean things about her behind her back, and boys stand up for her? I recently got into a similar situation and need support. Thank you for your blog!

Word of Mouth

- (Kuroo, Akaashi, Bokuto)

a/n: I’m so sorry to hear that, I hope you’re okay :( I was in a tough spot like that as well, people can be so mean sometimes :(( but it gets better when you find those real friends who stand up for you. Hope you enjoy <3

warnings: slight cussing, implied sexual activity

Kuroo:

This guy seems to be the type who can decipher in two seconds whether someone is a good person or not

And he was sure that your friends were good, especially since they were the ones to encourage you to admit your feelings toward him

So one day you and your friends attended one of Nekoma’s team for support

Kuroo wasted no time to sashay over and give you his routine greeting

Kuroo: “good luck kiss please.”

smooch

Kuroo: “also hold my jacket, I need someone to rep my name ya know ;)”

You: :) ??? okay bby :)

He walks away after he makes sure you put on the jacket

Once the match finished, you give him his “congrats kiss” he’s really insistent on all types of kisses that sly mf and excused yourself to the bathroom

He turns to talk to his team while he was in good spirits

Then he heard your friend scoff

Friend 1: “Thank god, I thought y/n would never leave”

Friend 2: “Maybe now that they’re gone we can make our move”

Friend 3: “Pretty sure I can look better in his jacket than they can. Slut”

He went from :) to >:( real fast

He whipped his head around and stomped over. The team slowly followed in confusion

Kuroo: “Who are you calling a slut”

Them: :o :o :o

Kuroo: “I know it’s not the same y/n that’s wearing my jacket. The same one that’s your friend. Man, and I thought you lot were genuine. Y’all are nothing but two-timin bitches and for what? To try and get in my pants? The only one who’s allowed to wear my jacket and get in my pants is y/n. And they’re the most beautiful thing in the world when they do. I love them. And I will never change my mind about that.”

Them: :O :O :O

You: :O

He didn’t realize you were standing there until Kenma rapped his shoulder and pointed at you

You were blushing, and not from hearing you get shit-talked behind your back, but the fact that your bf stood up for you AND confessed his love in front of the entire school

He walks over and pulls you by his jacket, zipping up the zipper all the way

He kisses your forehead

Kuroo: “Let’s go find you some real friends”

....

You: “After I get in your pants”

Him: :O

Akaashi:

Now it’s not that hard to believe that this beautiful creature is swooned over by the entire student population

So when they found out that the infamous Akaashi Keiji finally got cuffed there were many supporters and shippers

And there were a few haters as well

Akaashi supports whoever you are friends with, he trusts your judgement

But he started noticed your friends’ change in behavior ever since you got together

At some point he had had enough, and wanted to get to the bottom of it

So one day he joined your study group with your friends

You all decided to take a quick break, and he offered to accompany you to the vending machine, his plan in action

Akaashi: “You go on ahead, I’m going to use the bathroom real quick. Do you mind getting me a water, my love?”

swoons at the words ‘my love’

You: :D heck yes bby at your service

Once you leave, he creeps up to next to the doorway to eavesdrop

Friend 1: “They have some nerve bringing him today. If it was just Akaashi I wouldn’t mind...”

Friend 2: “Yeah, as if stealing him wasn’t enough. It’s like they’re rubbing it in our face”

Friend 1: “Ugh, what a selfish bitch”

Akaashi: :(

He was sad that he finally found out how they really felt. How could they hate such an angel like you?

You both return with waters, but your friends were still in a bad mood

So once the bickering toward you started, Akaashi got fed up

Akaashi: “You know, I think the two of us will take our leave. And by the way, if you only want me, that’s too bad. I’m the one who asked them out, so wherever I go, they come with me, and vice versa. You two are the most unsupportive people I’ve ever met. I think we’re done from here and on.”

There was a beat of silence. All three of you were like :o at his sudden outburst

He dragged you out, taking you home to finish the study session, where he explained what happened as he made you some tea

You: “Thank you”

Akaashi: “For what?”

“Everything”

“Anything for you, my love”

swoon marry me pls

Bokuto:

He definitely was well-known around the school, being one of the top aces in Japan and all

He was also well-known for being loud

Like. Really loud.

So when you guys got together, everyone definitely knew

How could they not? He loved to show off his baby!

You: *breathes*

Bokuto: My LOVE :D !! My ANGEL :D !! My HONEY BUNCH :D !! (and the other million names he has for you)

But since he had many fans, many of them were not please that he was off the market now

Because he was your bf now, there was a newfound spotlight of popularity on you, and while you were kind of okay with it, it came with a few scheming individuals

These girls in your class were quick to befriend you, and soon you formed a little “study group”

These “study” sessions were 10% actual studying. The other 90% was the three of them trying to pry Bokuto details out ofyou, trying to get you to spill any secrets of dating the ace

You didn’t really notice, it was just nice to have others to confide in

But oh boy

Did your bf notice

Thy always insisted on coming with you whenever Bokuto was involved

Practice? They were there in Nekoma gear

Mini ice cream date? Your friends practically invited themselves

And they wouldn’t even notice you, they were so focused on his every words, trying to get a touch of his flexed muscles

But he noticed how sour they would appear wherever he mentioned you

One night, the team was at the new diner after a match, famished after defeating your opponents

And of course, your friends decided to tag along

So the four of you were in a booth, with you, Bokuto, and your two new friends, who happened to be whispering to each other

Suddenly you got a call from your mom, and quickly excused yourself to take the call outside

What you didn’t know was that you’re new “friends” had devised a plan to try and snatch Bokuto from you

Friend 1: “Good, they’re finally gone”

Bokuto: >:o the fuck

Friend 2: “So, the two of us were wondering if you were doing anything tonight after this”

Bokuto: the fuck x 2 “Yeah, I’m going home with y/n. We’ll probably watch a movie or cuddle or something cute”

Friend 1: “Movie with y/n? Cuddle?? You wouldn’t want to do anything more interesting than that?”

Him: :( ?? “Like what?”

Friend 2: “Well we’re soo much better than they are, you can come home with us. You’ll have so much fun”

Bokuto (the oblivious/lovestruck mf he is): “We’ll watch a movie with y/n? Sounds fun!!”

They shook their head, then each one of the places a hand on his juicy thighs

Friend 1: “Forget about y/n. They’re nothing compare to what we can give you, physically.”

Friend 2: “We could have a threesome if you want. Doesn’t that sounds more appealing than watching a movie with them?”

Bokuto: >:O ah hell no

He jumped out of the booth and stared at them. “How dare you? We’re you only friends with y/n so you can try to get me with you two?! That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard!! Y/n my angel, my baby, my everything!! I would NEVER leave them, let alone CHEAT on them. And you sure as hell don’t deserve THEM as a friend. I’m so digusted right now I can’t even think straight!!”

He could rant longer, but he feels your hand on his shoulder.

You: “Bo, let’s go home.”

Bokuto: “Yes boss :)”

The rest of the team followed you home, joining in on the movie marathon you two had

Now you have lots of true friends and a great bf

[shhhlikeme]

hii! i saw you’re a new writer and your style is frickin awesome!! could you write a tanaka x black reader who’s also a cheerleader on a lvl 4 team and it’s his first time seeing her compete?!?! please and thank you!

Tanaka Seeing His All-Star Cheerleader GF Compete For The First Time! (Fluff)

———————————

A/N: Thank you for resending this🥺🤍🤍🤍 of COURSE! Let’s go on a trip to the should-have-happened 2020 Cheerleading Worlds:

———————————

“Babe!!! I’m so excited to see you!!!” Your boyfriend exclaimed into the phone. You had to hold the phone a few centimetres away from your ear because his voice was just so loud when he was excited.

“Me too, baby. We are about to start warming up soon. Did you find a spot to sit? You’re not too far back, are you? Because you can buy a pair of binoculars-“

“NO NEED! Second row, baby.”

You gasped, surprised. “What?? But you came a bit late, didn’t you? Those seats would have been taken for hours!”

“Are you questioning the powers of your boyfriend, Y/N?! All we had to do was make our way to the front audience and before you knew it two seats just opened up—“

We. Oh, right.

You remembered that Tanaka had brought his best friend Noya to Florida with him for the Cheerleading Worlds. Being well aware of how your bf and his friend are together , you immediately understood how they were able to find two seats in the front.

“Now I get it. Nishinoya bothered the other girls so much they relocated...” You had seen it first-hand at outdoor concerts with Nishi and Tanaka. Nishinoya has become even more girl crazy since his friend got off the market, he really wanted a girlfriend so he could go on double dates with you two instead of feeling like the perpetual third wheel.

“Huh? What matters is that we got a spot, Y/N!” Called a distant voice that you knew was Noya’s.

You rolled your eyes even though they couldn’t see it.

“Babe, I’m so glad you came, you know that right? Thank you so much!!” Your heart swelled every time you thought about the fact that your man literally booked a surprise trip to Florida from Japan to see you at the biggest competition in your entire life! You found out he was here last night—in a hotel far away because they were all booked up for worlds—But, he was here nonetheless. He didn’t want to shock you at the actual competition in case it altered your mind.

“I told you I’d be there!” He said.

“Yes but I didn’t believe you!! It’s a 15-hour flight!”

“That’s exactly why I brought my Noya with me! We had a blast on the flight. I just can’t wait to see you compete!” Your boyfriend quieted then, and you could hear the smile in voice when he said, “Plus, Noya wanted to be here for [YBF/N aka Your Best Friends Name].”

Noya shouted: ‘shut up, Tanaka!” in the distance and you laughed.

This is the first time that your cheer gym has ever qualified for Worlds and when your team had been given an invitation the lot of you cried for a week straight. Your boyfriend had sent you a singing telegram in celebration. It was hilarious and you loved him for it.

“That silly crush still going strong, huh Yuu?”

There were sounds of bustling in the phone then you heard Yuu loud and clear.

“It’s not silly Y/N. I’ll tell you that for the last time!”

“Tanaka told me you just asked out the hotel receptionist last night!!!”

“Because YBF/N-chan rejects me every day! I gotta make her jealous somehow!”

You heard rustling again and and an ‘Ow!’ from Noya before your boyfriends comforting voice entered the phone speaker again.

“Babe. Don’t let Noya drag you into their drama again. I need you to focus on your cheer comp. You kill it out there. Tell them if they drop you they’re gonna hear from me and blow me a kiss if you can.”

You blushed. You felt so insanely happy every time he encouraged you because he knew you so well and he was the best at it. You literally adored the man.

After speaking a little longer, your loving goodbyes and hanging up, Tanaka left to get snacks for himself and Noya while Noya held their seats

Ryu loved junk food and he loved his girlfriend so today was a perfect day

He knew It was a great idea to surprise you in Florida for the most important day of your life because he wanted you to know that nothing was more special to him than your happiness

On the way to Worlds from the hotel, Tanaka had annoyed Yuu to no end because he had tried to empty out the gift shop in search for an after-competition present for you

Noya swatted everything out of his hands, telling him that you were not on your death bed so the ‘get well soon’ teddybear was a no no & that he’d look lame with it

Not caring but kind of listening, Tanaka settled on picking up a bouquet of yellow roses for you because that was your uniform colour and he got your favourite candy.

Noya rolled his eyes but deep down he was so happy that his best friend had found the greatest love the two of them had ever seen

Seeing Y/N and Tanaka together made Yuu actually want to feel the kind of love his best friend felt for you and stop being such a player.

He had seen how much Tanaka had changed since meeting you, and it was incredible that his high-spirited best friend even had more notches to ascend

After retrieving the snacks, Tanaka returned to the stands and handed Nishinoya’s his order

They watched about 4 other teams perform before the announcer announced your team as next!!!

Tanaka cheered so loudly like a proud father

Nishinoya like a proud uncle

Your team ran on stage and you were holding hands with your best friend while waving to the audience

when you caught sight of your buzz cut baby in the crowd you pointed to him and blew him a big kiss

He pointed to his shirt with a huge smile and you could see that he was wearing a white t-shirt with your face on it in a cheer selfie

Omg lol

Honestly, Did you expect anything less?

Tanaka’s heart soared when you pointed him out, though he would never admit it, and his cheeks were hurting from smiling so wide!!!

He had never seen you perform not once before and he couldn’t wait to see you in your element!

When the lights shut off the libero and wing spiker started chanting your name in unison and whooping like they do while watching NFL.

Tanaka’s heart was beating through his chest because he was so nervous for you! Cheerleading was nothing like volleyball— while his volleyball team had 3 sets and over an hour to win a game, his beautiful girlfriend only had 2 minutes to leave everything on the floor that’s she and her team had been practicing months for and then it was all over.

Ryūnosuke watched as your team got into position.

His eyes glued themselves to you in a dance position to the far right

Since videotaping at the Cheerleading Worlds was strictly prohibited, he had practiced not blinking staring competitions with Noya last night so he wouldn’t miss a second of your performance!

He stood on his toes as to not let you out of his sight. He wanted to see your big ponytail all the way down to your toes. The whole nine yards.

Noya tried standing on the chair but he got hissed at so he jumped back down lol

Tanaka cheered one last time when he saw you take one last deep breath

“Game Time, Y/N! YOU GOT THIS BABE”

In a beat, the up-beat loud music started and you were going.

Tanaka was in awe of you and the incredible sport

Everything went so fast he was sure if he tried he’d have a heart attack from working to hard

He saw you whip your body backwards in series of difficult flips

He watched you jump into your bases hands and get tossed so high in the air that his heart stopped

He watched you stand tall in the air with only one guy holding you up while holding your toes beside your ear flexibly (partner stunts)

He watched the team move into a triangle and jump all at once hearing the crowd go:

“Hit! Hit! Hit! Hit! Pull!”

Then, he watched your team make a human pyramid! But it was so much more elaborate than the 3-person one he’d seen on tv shows:

What Tanaka expected:

Vs. What Tanaka saw:

Finally, he got to watch you in his favourite part: the sassy high energy dance at the end

Tanaka was flabbergasted because he never knew you were so much of an athlete (no offence meant, that’s what most people think before they witness competitive cheerleading)

When your team finished he cheered so loudly for you and so did Nishi

The energy in the crowd was unbelievable!!!

You looked out of breath and beautiful standing in your end position

To Tanaka, Cheerleading looked harder than volleyball!

And more dangerous.

It was like watching a Cirque de Soleil performance if it was on steroids and fast forwarded.....he loved it!!!

Tanaka wanted to run on stage when your team finished but he kept his cool and waited

After the comp and award ceremony (your team didn’t place) Tanaka was the first to run and pick you up into his arms in a big bear hug

He told you how proud he was of you and squeezed you and kissed your cheek

Even though you were sad, you couldn’t help but giggle in his embrace

All of your teammates were jealous of how cute you two were and how amazing your bf was to come all the way to America just to see you

Especially when Noya handed Tanaka who handed you the beautiful yellow roses and candy he bought for you

Everyone wished they had a boyfriend like yours as you took cute pictures together (some with Ryu kissing your cheek, giving you a piggy back, and the two of you kissing)

All pic credits go to Nishinoya who takes it way too seriously but you love him anyway

Tanaka explained to you how awesome you guys did and it literally made you forget about your loss and just smile

It was important you were happy because that meant you could enjoy the rest of the Florida trip with your best boy !!

Even Noya had a pretty great happily ever after on this trip because YBF/N was so impressed by the shirt he made with her face on it.

Go big or go home was definitely your bf’s best friend’s speciality and your best friend actually agreed to go on a date with him after seeing it

Ryu gave his Libero a thumbs up before leaning down to kiss you

He held you lovingly in his strong arms

All in all, you were ecstatic to have your man at your competition and Ryu was even happier than you to be there.

[flameontheotherside]

Why I still call Erik my TF in spite of despising the TF fad

Twin flame, twin soul, soul mate, etc. It's basically the same shit. I realized that the fad is a joke for another reason. It doesn't promote authentic unconditional love. People read all these stupid "Twin Flame Signs" and use those to place conditions on people for whether or not they will love another. Most people wouldn't just love someone regardless if they meet the "criteria". That's not unconditional love.

I've changed the way I thought about all of it because even if my tf was just a demon with a heard of gold (joke) I'd still love him. Even if he were alive, I'd still love him. It's unconditional love! I lack other ways to call Erik something besides my TF. Maybe spirit spouse is okay but my relationship is kind of private in that I don't go out of my way to detail all the intimate things. I don't want people getting ideas.

The TF thing is just toxic bullshit.

I cant associate myself with the toxic people who have thier heads up thier ass but for the sake of sharing my story and my journey with my TF, unfortunately this is how it has to be. I don't do TF readings anymore or market my tarot work for that. I don't want to be part of the problem but part of the solution.

When people tell me how I should view my journey or stick thier dirty nose in my business with gaslighting, I don't listen. They behave out of ignorance and maybe fear. It's likely they haven't read my blog to gain clarity. They just want to be dickheads without two braincells to rub together.

Whether I like it or not, --Sometimes I hate it.

Erik is my Twin Flame. That's it. I've dealt with this for over 5 years. We've done so much work, I've learned so many things, I've had so many miracles happen that it would be a crime to deny it all. It would be a great failure. I have the advantage in that he's in spirit to know for certain because of all the things we've worked on in the past 5 years. Most people don't get that. Me and a handful of others with a TF in spirit know this.

I didn't believe in TFs. To me it was a joke so to have Erik tell me we're TFs was a shock. The initial shock was difficult and then I thought he could be a demon or fucking with me. In the beginning it was easy to convince myself I was just crazy. As time went on it wasn't so. Now these days I don't worry if I'm crazy but I wish I was just because some days it's hard to have a dead TF. Who wants that?

A psychic told me that he would die.

For a few days in a row back in early 2009, I was having dreams about being with some guy hovering over the earth. My whole life I felt an urge to find a guy who didn't live in my state but was in the country. I wasn't looking strictly for love. I had a sense that time was running out and I needed to find him; to protect him. The psychic knew right away what I was saying without really saying it.

It tore me apart. I cried in my closet for a long time begging for it to not be true. I had to force myself to believe the psychic was wrong. Then when I felt Erik was really dead, I slipped into a very dark place and had to again make myself believe he was still alive. I HAD TO believe he was still alive even though I felt his spirit with me and the dreams where he'd show up began. My attempted suicide happened and I really needed to believe he was alive for the sake of my own life.

Today is the anniversary of his death.

I'm not okay. All I can think of over and over is what the psychic had said to me. I remember his voice. He was a world renowned psychic and the son of one who interested me. I didn't know if I believed in psychics but I grew up an intuitive in denial. They way he said what he said cut and burned.

Was supposed to go out with my bf today but I can't leave my bed. I can't stop beating myself up. I miss Matt too. Erik told me in a dream that one of my closest friends died. It was confirmed by looking at his FB page with RIP written all over it. I followed Matt to Texas where Erik's also from. We went coincidentally on his bday. Now Matt's dead. These past two months has had me so fucked up.

😘💕 -Hadassah Monique

[atlafan]

Hi Miss Jordan!! I was wondering what led you to be a college advisor and how you got to where you are today. I’m currently a college student considering going into education (either high school or college level) and was curious about your own experiences and perspectives!

Great question! It’s sort of a long story, so here it is:

My senior year of college, I was working for our marketing department at the university I was attending, I was the social media fellow so I was pretty much handling all things social media related for the university. During the last month of school, I made it through two rounds of interviews for the Digital Media Specialist position they had opened up. It was a more practical job for me, and would allow me to stay where I was. (In my heart of hearts I wanted to be a screenwriter/film maker, and I still do, but things happen.) 

I didn’t get that job because I didn’t have enough experience, obviously, but they did offer me an interim program support assistant job, so I’d be the admin for the marketing department. The pay was decent enough, I’d get to work where I wanted to, and my bf and I could move into together as planned after graduation. I really wanted to work at my school because even though I’d be going through this new transition into the real world, I’d be stepping into a familiar territory. I was able to breathe easy at graduation too, which was nice. 

After two months of being a PSA, I went to an alumni event with our VP for Advancement and Marketing and our Director of Development. They both got to know me a lot better since I was in the car with them for a total of three hours (round trip). A week or so later, the DoD pulled me into his office and asked me if I would consider being the Interim Assistant Director for Annual Giving. I’d be on salary, and get better benefits. I said yes, and started that up in July of 2017. Now, I didn’t know much about philanthropy, so I had a lot of training to do, which was fine. The main point of my job was to run our student calling program. I was overseeing roughly 15-20 students in the evenings while they called donors and alums for support. 

I enjoyed this job, more so in the beginning, but the hours sucked. I was working 11-8, sometimes 8-8, I’d have 2 hours with my bf when I got home, and that was about it. The DoD was a great supervisor, but things turned to shit when they hired a Director of Annual Giving. I had worked with this person in marketing when I was a student worker, and I was friends with his person, but she sort of still treated me like I was that student worker, and not an adult. I basically became an overglorified admin, and I came home crying every day. She made me absolutely miserable. The best part of the day was running the calling program, but I hated working in the evenings so much. 

I realized that I loved helping students, but I didn’t like asking for money. I wanted to help students with the every day. I realized this by being a student supervisor, I taught my students a lot. After a few months, a student success coach position opened up (academic advisor), and I went for it. I got through two rounds of interviews, but I wasn’t selected, however, they told me I was the second choice. A couple of months later, in October, I got a call asking if I was still interested in the position because another person was leaving. I quickly said yes and went to have a meeting with my current supervisor. I accepted the position, and when I tell you it was the best feeling in the world to give my two weeks to my former supervisor. I was on top of the world. I was the ADoAG for a year and six months. 

I’ve been an advisor for two and a half years, and I love it. I have a better supervisor, I work with way better people, and I love what I do. I learned that money doesn’t buy happiness if you’re miserable every single day doing what you’re doing. I’m happier and healthier now. When I need a day off, there’s no question about it. These people see me as an asset and tell me when I’m doing a good job. 

So, in the last 4 years, I’ve had three major career changes, all of which my degree prepared me for. I love working in higher ed. There’s so many perks! I get paid on snow days, free access to the gym, free events, oh, and getting my grad degree for practically free was pretty nice too. I also get more than a standard two week vacation, I think I have over a month’s worth of PTO built up, and two months of sick time built up. They also added maternity/paternity leave to our benefits package. I strongly recommend working in higher ed if you have the chance. Sorry if this is long, but I wanted you to see that sometimes it takes a while to find what you want to do, and that it’s okay to change things up every so often. Hope this helps!

[taww]

Review: Valvet Soulshine Tube Preamplifier by MGD

Marty DeWulf passed away about a month after submitting this review. His work was always an inspiration to me and it was a privilege to share his thoughts on this hobby he loved so much. RIP Marty - you are missed.

There was a time when two high-end audio companies dominated the conversation and the market regarding tube electronics. In the 1970s, Audio Research and conrad-johnson were the first, last and every word when it came to valves. There were other small tube manufacturers around, but they were basically garage-based start-ups, poorly financed with minimal budgets and little business savvy. It was a world populated by solid state and companies carrying the flag for “modern” transistor designs. It seems ironic that back in the 1970s when transistors were so predominant, they sounded their worst… the format was much less than mature.

Related Reading:

First Take Review: Valvet Soulshine Preamplifier & A4 Mk.II Amplifier

Thumbing through a current audiophile publication today, whether it be online or in the pages of a magazine, tube products abound. They come with names from companies I’ve never heard of before, and from faraway places. Go away for a few years and the scenery changes drastically… I feel so old. Fortunately, I’m still friends with @taww, who sends me stuff to listen to and write about. When I first talked to him years ago he wasn’t a fan of tube gear. If I recall, he thought valves to be totally inaccurate and euphonic sounding. [Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but yes I strongly preferred solid state accuracy.] I too, was a solid state guy. The dynamic range, frequency extension and clarity of modern solid state electronics have had me on their side for many years. But then, I heard the Monarchy M24 tube DAC and saw it as a true head turner with its tube section. [So did I! I bought my Monarchy NM24 review unit and it was my reference DAC for years, tubes and all.] 

The Monarchy wasn’t the first great tube product in my experience. I’d reviewed a tube preamp from Musical Designs that was a budget wonder, and over the years I’d heard a number of Audio Research products that seemed to bridge the gap between reality and sonic illusion in palpable ways. [Don’t forget Audible Illusions and Joule Electra, I remember you liked those too.] Some very fine tube products had served to weaken my wall of valve resistance and solid state preference, so much so, that I would eventually purchase an all tube preamp from SAS, as did fellow BFS writer Rich Weiner. Still, when it came down to absolutes; dynamic edges, front to back transparency, frequency extension and tonal trueness, my overall preferences always lead me down the road of the better solid state units, the Pass Labs XP10 for example.

When @miy-taww​ suggested that I audition the tube preamplifier from Valvet certain expectations immediately arose; it’s a tube preamp after all. In certain ways, valves are valves and they behave predictably, especially basic designs such as the Valvet. He gave me a rundown of the circuit employed and the choice of tubes. A picture of the unit’s performance was forming in my head even before my ears had heard it. The Soulshine preamplifier from Valvet (USD $5,890) was unique to me in several ways. Handmade in Germany, its parts selection was insanely high with premium resistors and exotic caps in abundance, all hand-wired with solid-core silver. It looked to be a new interpretation of an old theme. 

[Note: An upgraded version, the Soulshine IIz ($8,890), is now available. The original Soulshine reviewed here is still available on order for $5,890 through its US distributor, Alfred Kainz of highend-electronics.]

Design & Operation

A few words about the physical construction of the Soulshine. Like so many quality preamps before it, the Soulshine has a separate chassis for its power supply and control sections. Constructed of thicker than the usual aluminum billet, the appearance is low slung, clean and high tech. I like the way it looks. The front face, following the theme of clean futurism, has a chrome knob for the stepped-attenuator volume control and another for input selection (four line-level inputs, one of which is balanced XLR). To the right of the volume control is a window with numeric volume level displayed with blue LEDs; with one number for both channels, there is no way of setting left to right balance. The tradeoff is one less control in the signal path. 

The rear panel of the preamp allows for single ended as well as balanced operation, though @miy-taww​ informed me that the internal circuit is not truly balanced even when using the balanced connectors. [ On closer examination, it appeared that the inverting half of the balanced signal is referenced to signal ground internally. @miy-taww​ ] On an operational note, I consistently had to allow the preamp about 30 minutes warm-up time at the beginning of each listening session to obtain its best.

The Soulshine has a remote control for volume changes while its listener is firmly planted in a comfy listening chair. Unlike my last experience with a tube preamp employing remote volume control, the Valvet was quiet, responsive and easy to use. This is the way a remote should be configured – simple and easy to use. The lone problem I had with operating the Valvet came from trying to find the on/off switch…. which took me an embarrassingly long time to find (hint, it’s underneath the power supply).

Sonics

Having a pre-established vision of what the Valvet would sound like before it even arrived, I can now report that my expectations were only partially right. First off, let me mention the output impedance of the Valvet is 400 Ohms. Because of that, the input impedance of the power amp you are using is not going to impact the sonics of the preamp substantially. What I didn’t expect were the results obtained by using amps with high, medium and low input impedances; the preamp performed consistently regardless of the amplifier used. Frequency extremes stayed relatively consistent with each amp used. That was a big surprise. What did change was stage size as I went from one amp to another. With the Pass Labs XA30.5′s lowish input impedance (30 kOhms balanced, 15 kOhms unbalanced), the soundstage was somewhat smaller and a bit laid back. Going up in impedance resulted in a nominally larger stage and slightly deeper bass response, but little else.

Let me talk about the Valvet with the low input impedance Pass Labs amp. I didn’t expect these two products to work well at all, but the combo proved almost hypnotic sounding as my initial auditions with the two lasted far longer than anticipated. The performance with the Pass wasn’t so much like having the instruments and singers in the room, a phenomenon I’ve come to expect with my Pass amp and preamp combo. With the Pass and the Valvet it was slightly more distant, while still being super vivid, substantial and picturesque. It was almost like listening to an aural View-Master. Remember the toy from the 60s? It has two eye holes and a lever to press that advanced a round disc with photos that presented to each eye a slightly different version of a scene, usually outdoors, that resulted in the user seeing an almost unrealistically vivid, 3D, and real appearing vista. The sense of 3D depth was stunning using the Valvet and Pass with dense color tones and detailing that resulted in a reach out and touch it quality, a rare synergy between a solid state amp with a valve preamp. It was like being there, except on a smaller scale, a scale in which reality seemed to fit on a smaller stage. The Valvet preamp with the Pass amp was very much like the View-Master. It had a superbly grainless presentation with depth and dimension galore. I thought about how photos of Yosemite in my View-Master seemed like being there one frame at a time – just smaller. Listening to Red Norvo’s, Forward Look struck me as a less-than-forward look at the performance that was in every other way as alive and dimensionally solid as my old Yosemite View-Master images. 

View-Master ad, c. 1955 (source: Santa Barbara Museum of Art)

Dynamics were proportional to image size with good edge and bite, though not to the extent I expect from the best solid state preamps. Interestingly, while large bass and kettle drums when struck with the Valvet didn’t have the visceral punch of my Pass preamp, the Valvet conveyed as much big drum volume as any preamp I’ve ever heard. Going to power amps with input impedances higher than that of the Pass, such as my rebuilt Dayton Wright 500 (75 kOhms), increased the size of the soundstage, brought it forward, while causing the same to be ever so slightly less dense.

Purity. Whereas solid state preamps seem to more easily engender the quality of transparency, sometimes to the extreme, the best tube preamps in my experience have a quality I prefer to call purity. It’s a feeling thing, a sensation that one preamp feels more like “transparency” and the other feels more like “purity.” Yes, that’s a cop out. Then again, I’m not sure I’m capable of defining the two in such a manner so as to come up with a better definition of the two terms. Presently, I use transparency and purity with the understanding that with time, the two might eventually define themselves with some clarity. I fear that the difference in the two terms is more of a gut feeling rather than something clearly tangible emanating from the Webster’s dictionary. Let’s work on this.

Listening to Judy Collins “Send in the Clowns” [Tidal, Qobuz], the Valvet swims in a feeling of humanity - a female life was in the room singing in a form and fashion that highlighted inflection and elemental emotion over power or presence. Not that power and presence were not there, they were, but those qualities were subservient to the sensation of un-hyped reality; a reality formed and fashioned around the sensation of the tangible. It’s a reality that the previous tube preamp covered by me missed in total. The midrange rightness of the Valvet makes all of the exciting details of the music come to the fore, while never seeming to observe the performance through a microscope. Extreme transparency, on the other hand, not only draws attention to itself, but forces the listener, on many occasions, to focus his/her attention on aspects of the performance that are sometimes less than musical. The performance takes on less importance than the sonic fireworks used to stimulate the senses of the listener. Take your pick; the Valvet, though transparent in the best sense of the word, is more pure in its intentions and performance than almost any other preamp I’ve auditioned.

Comparing the Valvet to my Pass Labs XP10 preamp ($5,250 before being replaced by the XP12) resulted in exactly the results one might expect. These two preamps are of unquestionable quality, each passing the signal sent to it as close to perfect as one could want. But they differ, and the careful listener has no difficulty telling the one from the other. I might describe them as saying that where they converge on a singular sound, neither sounds too much like the other; they maintain their individual characters while each seeks a somewhat different though idealized vision of reality. Yes, I’ll give the frequency extremes to the Pass, even the highest highs. Gross dynamics have a small advantage with the Pass also, though it is a minimal advantage. Where they differ, and where the Valvet will have an advantage to some ears is in the area of midrange coherence and that mystery word “purity.” And while the Pass also strikes me as having a high degree of purity in its reproduction, the Valvet goes there in spades, swooping up the listener in a tsunami of musical coherence. The lens of the Valvet is one of musicality, but also of great organic texture, heart and warmth. Now, these later qualities are also found with the Pass - it too delivers a wonderfully picturesque portrayal of the performance - but the Pass tends toward back-of-the-stage “air” and transparency, and the Valvet toward purity. A logical case can be made for either preamp, and I loved listening to both, but I feel the Pass appeals more to my mind as the Valvet harkens more to my heart. Combine the purity of the Valvet with its View-Master spatial qualities, and this preamp conjures up my first memories of auditioning the original SP-10 from Audio Research, so advanced it sounded and how it stood out from other tube preamps I had heard back then. 

Conclusion

If you tend toward tube preamps and yet are unwilling to live with some of their greater failings, the Valvet is a marvelous place to go. The price is not unsubstantial, but when compared to some of the more insanely priced products out there that don’t sound as good, this is a fine place to end up. Thanks to Valvet distributor Alfred Kainz of highend-electronics and @miy-taww​ for allowing me the opportunity to audition this marvelous device. 

[wholelottatiffy]

Oh thank god for @all-ringils-blazing for saving me from utter boredom<3

Who were you named after?: The song “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”... take a wild guess as to what part of that I was named after ;)

Last time you cried?:  Earlier today

Do you like your handwriting?:  Well... it’s 50/50, I don’t hate it but sometimes I wonder what my hand was doing when I try to read stuff I write

What is your favorite lunch meat?:  I don’t really eat much lunch meat anymore, I try and limit my meat intake most of the time. Maybe like... roast beef if I had to pick?

Longest relationship?:  My current relationship with my boy that’ll be 6 years on April 11th <3 *Dabs in success*

Do you still have your tonsils?:  Nope, got rid of those suckers

Do you bungee jump?:  Nope, and honestly I would probably do it once and freak out the entire time

What is your favorite kind of cereal?:  Okay so reaally specific... around my area, we have a grocery store called Shoprite and yooo fam, their store brand of Lucky Charms is fantastic and for like $2 for a box instead of $4 for cereal. And Krave cereal, those would be my two top choices (also I love how the longest answer on this whole thing is about cereal)

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?:  Yep. I wear high-top Converse if I wear sneakers at all and that shits is impossible to take off without unlacing it

Do you think you’re strong willed?:  I would say so

Favorite Ice Cream?:  Okay so I am literally a garbage can to the point where if my parents find a wacky ice cream flavor with all kinds of stuff in it I will 100% eat it. But other than that Cookies n Creme is my go to

What is the first thing you notice about a person?:  Probably their face, like their smile, or whatever

Football or baseball?:  No, me don’t watch sportsball

Favorite donut?:  My local Amish Market has a bakery and... guys... these donuts are like mini cakes, they have so many crazy donuts and I would have to pick either the Cookies n Creme one, or one of their peanut butter donuts

What are you listening to?:   Buzz by Halestorm (y’all should give it a listen if you like rock)

If you were a crayon, what color would you be?:  A solid deep red, like a Merlot

What is your favorite smell?: Other than like the standard cookies and brownies answer, probably like, the scent of a print shop, buckets of ink and stuff. Honestly, don’t ask me why, it may be because I miss being in my college’s printmaking rooms

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?:  My bf

Hair color?:  A dark brown, in certain lighting and situations it sometimes looks almost black

Eye color?: Hazel

Favorite food to eat?:  I don’t get it a lot, but I really love Quiche

Scary movies or happy ending?:  It depends on my mood, if it’s a really good horror movie I’m down, happy endings are nice sometimes

Last movie you watched in a theater?:  The Sonic the Hedgehog movie (it was a solid 5/10 btw, I went with my squad of friends) But a movie I actually wanted to go see before that was Joker

What color shirt are you wearing?: Dark gray (for once I’m not wearing black)

Favorite holiday?:  Halloween 100%

Beer or wine?:  Can I choose Whiskey in this instance? Beer, not at all. Wine, sometimes... but a glass of whiskey? Sign me up, especially some peach whiskey

Night owl or morning person?:  Oh a night owl 100%

Favorite day of the week?:  Tuesday 

Favorite animal?:  Doggos and sneks

Do you have a pet?:  I used to, my doggo Remy had passed away last November

Where would you like to travel?:  Literally anywhere across the U.S. and outside the U.S.. I’ve never left my home country and would love to just hop in a plane and just go wherever (but like... obviously not right now tho).

Taglist boopety boop: @awkward-turtles-world @herbalina-of-yesteryear @briarfox13 @quincy-riv3rw00d @literary-potato @mothelia

[paladin-andric]

Happily Ever Afters: Eignach

In honor of the upcoming holidays, I’m going to be posting some Christmas related stories! Up first is the journey of Eignach, the urchin from Genmere who somehow found all his dreams coming true. Below are two perspectives, one of how hard he had it as a child, and one many years later, celebrating the holidays with his love. His tale is surprisingly inspiring now; when I first wrote him he was just “Razorwing’s bf”. It’s nice to look back and see how much he’s developed, both in my setting and as his own person. Read under the cut.

Tag list: @thereisnothingwrongwithbeingmad, @lady-redshield-writes, @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword, @sheralynnramsey, @tawnywrites, @writer-on-time, @oceanwriter, @zwergis-spilledink, @fluffpiggy, @elliewritesfantasy, @homesteadchronicles, @laurenwastestimewriting, @elaynab-writing, @the-ichor-of-ruination, @candy687, @fierywords, @shewrites-sometimes, @nerds-and-nebulae, @purpleshadows1989

“Hiya, mister Jacob!

A small, all black koutu ran up to the store counter, hopping excitedly. Even with jet black feathers all over the koutu’s body Jacob could tell he was filthy. In addition, he wore a sleeveless shirt and shorts, both gray, dirty and torn.

The bearded man behind the counter gave him a smile. “Aah, Eignach! How are you today?”

“Oh, good I guess!” the child answered back bashfully. “Erm, so I was wondering if you had anything for me today…?” Eignach stared up at the man with wide, hopeful eyes.

Jacob knew this child well. Eignach was a common sight in this less well-off part of the city. Genmere was pretty well-off, being the capital city of Geralthin and the trade hub of the known world, but that didn’t stop the occasional bout of hard luck…especially when it came to orphans.

Eignach was one such orphan, having lost his parents to a monster attack outside the walls. With no other family and no one to take care of him, he ended up on the street. The orphanages of Genmere were already full due to a recent war up north, and so none could take him in.

Jacob sighed. He didn’t need the help, and he’d rather spare the money, but he wasn’t about to leave this kid without a way to make money. He needed it to buy food, to stay alive…

“Well, I suppose my yard’s a bit of a mess. Think you could water it and pull the weeds?”

“Sure thing, mister Jacob! I’d love to!”

Eignach bolted towards the back door, fidgeting excitedly as Jacob plodded over. The adult unlocked the door and headed outside, where the back of his property lay in relative disuse. He barely came back here and it showed. The yard was mostly empty save a few tools lying about, and a small, short fence was all that separated it from the streets.

Jacob looked down and picked up a large, heavy pail full of stagnant water. It had been sitting there for weeks, but…

“Alright, just dump this around the yard, I guess. Don’t go drinking it though, you’ll get sick!”

He thrust the huge pail into Eignach’s talons, who quickly buckled and strained as he tried to keep it held up. “Urg, hng…s-sure thing, mister Jacob!”

“Once you’re done, pull out all those weeds, and all those dandelions and clovers too.”

“Y-you got it, sir!”

“Take your time. I’ll be inside. If you need anything, let me know, alright?”

“Y-you bet!”

“Alright, I’ll come back to see how you’re doing later! Pace yourself, now!”

Jacob entered the store again and closed the door behind him. He trusted Eignach, not that there was really anything for the child to steal back there anyway.

The shop owner sat down behind the counter and kicked his feet up, taking the papers he left there and beginning to flip through them.

Huh…this Razorwing fellow just killed ANOTHER dragon. Been hearing his name a lot lately…a lotta dopes wanting to be adventurers come through here, but he sounds like the real deal. Hmm…a crash in the chocolate market? That’s odd…trade wars with the Federation? Dumb turtles…huh! Says here a paladin just vanquished some cult, too. Lotta weird things going on lately…

Jacob continued thumbing through the news that the Drake Express had published, noting that while news had been slow for a long while, things had been ramping up the past year.

More heresies, buncha incidents on the human-koutu border, strange happenings in the south…hmm…what’s going on, I wonder?

Jacob’s casual perusal was interrupted by what sounded like shouting. Very loud shouting, by several different voices…coming from his back yard.

“What the hell…?”

He quickly put the papers down and stood up, hurrying over to the back door and throwing it open.

The sight before him was not what he had expected.

Eignach was surrounded by a large group of boys, all older and bigger than himself. He was on his knees, cowering as they pulled and hit him.

“It hurts! Stop! Stop it!”

“What are you gonna do about it, birdy? Squawk? Come on, squawk for me.”

“Please…”

Jacob’s face was beet red as he opened his mouth and bellowed “HEY!” at the top of his lungs.

The children all froze and turned to look at the furious man. He was quite tall and imposing in appearance, but this angry he was something else.

“You little rats! I oughta whip you all half to DEATH!”

The human children all yelled and began scurrying, jumping over the fence and rushing back into the city. The man ran to the fence and raised his fist in the air.

“If I ever catch you here again, I’ll give you the beating of your life!”

“I’m telling father!” one of the well-to-do boys called back.

“Then I’ll beat his ass too, you little snot-nosed brat!”

Jacob sighed and shook his head as the last of the children vanished into the city. He turned and looked over at the koutu, walking over and kneeling down next to him. He extended his hand. “Are you okay, Eignach?”

The crow sniffled as he accepted the man’s help, getting pulled to his feet and then staggering over to the tree stump in the middle of the yard. His shirt had a new tear, larger than all the others. His face grew wet as he began to cry.

“M-mister Jacob? W-why is everyone…so mean?”

“They’re idiots, Eignach. Don’t think about them.”

The child wiped at his face, looking more crestfallen than Jacob could ever remember him looking. “I-I hate it here…”

“I know, I know. It’s gonna be alright, Eignach.”

“I miss mother and father…”

Jacob’s face grew sullen at those words. He knew Eignach’s story, and his heart was heavy at the reminder of it.

“T-the guards don’t let me back in my house. They said it’s not ours anymore, that mother and father are gone. I don’t understand…did they leave because they hate me?”

The man’s eyes went wide. “N-no, no, Eignach! They don’t hate you! Of course they don’t! They’re your parents! They love you!”

“T-then why don’t they come back?”

So young, so innocent…Jacob could only look down and try his best to comfort him. “They can’t. It’s not their choice. They were forced. They miss you, Eignach, just like you miss them. If it was up to them they’d be here right now.”

“I wish they were…I wish they were here with me…I wish they’d protect me…”

The shop owner felt a great deal of pity for the little misfit. Try as he might, he couldn’t seem to find a place to call his own, and sought out nice adults like Jacob for guidance and validation. “They wish they were too, Eignach…but you have to stay strong for them, alright? They want you to be happy.”

“I’m not happy.”

Jacob nearly started crying too. Here was a small, young child, at his most important moments in life, where he would be shaped into the man he would be when he grew up, when he should be learning and growing and having fun and living with friends and family…and he was a homeless urchin without a soul to bond with, doing hard labor to scrape by, sleeping in back alleys and crying to himself when the other kids bullied him.

Eignach seemed surprised when Jacob leaned down and gave him a hug. Jacob was surprised, too, but for a different reason.

…man, this kid STINKS.

The crow child sniffled and accepted the hug, wings wrapping around the man.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Jacob assured him. Eignach could only barely keep himself from breaking down like this.

“Y-you’ll be my friend, right, Jacob?”

“Of course.”

They remained like this for a while longer, Eignach not wanting to let go. It gave him vague memories of years ago, when his family was still alive, and his mother would lovingly cradle him and whisper lullabies to him…

He felt a little cold and alone when Jacob broke the hug, but when he looked up the warm smile the man was giving him put him at ease. “Say, Eignach, forget the weeds. Why don’t you come with me? I think you deserve an easy day after all that.”

The koutu wiped his eyes. “W-what do you mean?”

“I mean we’ll take you to the bathhouse, get you and your clothes washed, I’ll treat you to dinner, and rent you an inn room for the night. How does that sound?”

Eignach’s eyes lit up. “T-that sounds wonderful!”

“Great! Come on, let’s get started. You reek!”

“Sure thing, mister Jacob!”

The crow eagerly followed the shopkeep back inside, eyes alight as he considered the day ahead. No dirt in his feathers, fresh clothes, a full stomach and a roof over his head…

…maybe someday, he could live like that every day.

------------------------------------

Many years later...

------------------------------------

Winter Music

The living room was warm, both in color and temperature. A roaring fire before the couch and a smattering of themed decorations around the carpeted room gave a lovely, inviting appearance where once could relax in a harmonious setting.

Outside, snow fell from the sky in a great flurry, and the darkness was only broken by distant lights on the horizon. The snow had piled up quite a bit on the ground, not a twig or blade of grass in sight. It must have been utterly freezing, but inside, it was as if one was in a different world.

Two koutu stood beside one another before the tree. It was decorated in various ornaments, some purchased, some handmade. It was tradition to bring in a tree for the day that awaited them tomorrow. This was a cultural side effect of the decision the koutu made to embrace humanity’s faith. Tomorrow was Creation Day, a religious observance of God’s kindness and mercy, and now the koutu celebrated it just the same as humans.

The tree had been brought in by hand, and Razorwing had wowed Eignach with his great might, cutting down and carrying in the thing with little effort.

Now, with all the other decorations in place, the small crow stepped forward and offered the final piece to complete the tree. Eignach, smiling widely, rose his arms to place it upon a high branch.

A large, ornamental heart, with the heads of two avians resting against one another inside.

He stepped back to admire it, and the tree as a whole. Razorwing put an arm around his shoulder.

“Looks wonderful, eh?”

“Sure does,” he answered quietly.

The pair of them stood admiring the tree for a while, other thoughts in their minds forgotten. It had been quite a journey up to this point. So many long years as orphans, the adventuring on Razorwing’s part and the skulking the streets in disguise on Eignach’s part, both many miles apart in different kingdoms…

How did fate allow them to be together like this?

“Hey…” Eignach’s voice was hesitant and shaky.

“Yes?”

“Do you…do you think it’ll be like this…forever?”

Razorwing turned and looked at the younger man. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…us. I spent my entire life never having seen you, on the streets of Genmere, wandering around without a home, without a purpose, a-and all of a sudden…I have a home. I have…a place I belong. It’s strange…I never knew what it was like to have a home, or a family, or a love, or anything…I’m just curious…is this how life is supposed to be? It feels too good to be true.”

Razorwing gave him a warm smile and pulled him closer. “Of course it is. You were just unlucky…as I was. I had to claw myself to this position, and it’s not one I intend to throw away. You know I’ll never leave, and we’ve been over this before…you’re not a guest anymore; you’re family. This is your home, too. We’ll live here as long as we’re together, and I get the feeling that’s not going to end in this life or the next.”

Eignach felt his eyes watering. He dove into Razorwing, pulling him into a tight hug as he squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in the other man’s shirt.

Razorwing’s expression softened, and he returned the hug, looking down at the crow latched onto him. He patted his back and let out a quiet “You’re safe,” as the other koutu quivered.

“Y-you are too,” Eignach said, his voice muffled by all the cloth and feathers.

“Hmm?”

“I love you, Domnall.”

The utterance of that name broke Razorwing’s stoic visage for a moment. Only two people in the world knew him by that name; Eignach…and the one that abused him in his younger years.

Admitting the truth of his life before “Razorwing” and giving him his real name was a massive amount of trust that Razorwing had placed in Eignach…and he had no reason to believe that trust would ever be broken.

His smile returned as he remembered where he was. The old bag of bones and feathers would never trouble him again. Like the crow had just said, he was safe here, with him.

“I love you too, Eignach.”

In a world of their own, the pair embraced on this most holy day of kindness and love.

[weshipyourride]

Meet Adam Sklar of Sklar Hand-Built Bicycles

In the serious bike business world it’s not often you find the goofy few who are in it for the fun of it all, but at BikeFlights.com we’re lucky that we get to meet so many rad humans. One of these people is Adam Sklar, of Sklar Bikes, a Coloradan living and loving up in Bozeman, Montana. While our West Coast Marketing Manager Colin Blanchard was in Montana for a partner event, Cycle Greater Yellowstone, he got a chance to sit down with Adam to learn what keeps him motivated and why he can’t ever take a serious photo.

BikeFlights.com: I’ve heard rumors that you grew up around the front range in Colorado, did growing up in a bike heavy region lead to you riding bikes early?

Adam Sklar: I grew up in Boulder, and I wasn’t much into cycling when I was younger. When I was in high school, my group of friends who were skiers also biked. With no snow during the summer, they pushed me to ride bikes. I started with riding road bikes and then converting them into fixed gears.

BF: You mainly ride mountain bikes now. When did you switch over to mountain bikes?

AS: During high school, I started to flip the road bikes that I had converted to fixed gears to sell to the local college kids. After I had sold a few of them, I had saved enough to buy my first nice mountain bike. I guess you could say the entrepreneurship started young.

Ivy Audrain and Adam Sklar heading out on an adventure.

BF: Did your love for bikes draw you to start building your own right away?

AS: My first love was always skiing. As much as bikes were fun, it wasn’t my main passion when I was younger. I didn’t start building bikes until I was in college and after I had done a ton of research to learn as much as I could before starting.

BF: Do you consider any frame builders to be mentors to you when you were learning as much as you could?

AS: Carl Strong helped me quite a bit with understanding the industry and what the life of a frame builder is like.

BF: Carl lives in Bozeman. Is he a big reason that you made the move from Boulder?

AS: I moved to Bozeman for a few reasons. I went to college for engineering and Montana State has a great program. The snow here is also the best in the world, so with how much I like to ski it was an easy choice.

BF: What was the push for starting to build bikes then?

AS: I started to build my own cross and mountain bikes for fun. After a few years I started to build bikes for friends, too. I was a poor college student and wasn’t making money making bikes but I didn’t want to lose money either. I ended up opening a bank account, limiting myself to only spend money out of that for bike stuff. To start that account I needed a business, that’s how the brand really started.

BF: When did frame building turn into a full time job and passion?

AS: I continued to build bikes casually through college. I also lucked into a job at an engineering firm doing design. Around this time, word had started to spread, and I began building bikes for non-friends. It was always a goal when I graduated from school to go to NAHBS (North American Handmade Bicycle Show), but then go back to engineering while waiting to see if frame building could be a full time job. I started to get so many calls and emails about building frames that it started to bleed into my engineering job. I did a bike-packing trip on the Colorado Trail and when I got back I grabbed coffee with my boss. He told me that I should start working on just one thing, may it be Sklar or engineering. When I told him I was going to focus on Sklar, the first thing he did was buy a bike from me.

BF: Wow, so within six months of going to NAHBS for the first time you had moved into full time frame building?

AS: Yeah, that was four years ago this month.

Colin Blanchard, Ivy Audrain and Adam Sklar at the top of Truman Gulch.

BF: Do you feel like anything set you apart from the other frame builders showing at NAHBS that year?

AS: I’ve always focused a ton of forward thinking geometry that is dialed for riding hard and fast. If you look at the geometry on my mountain bikes, they’re where the industry is moving, but I’ve been doing that for a while. I like to think that my bikes are quite pretty, too.

BF: How did you come to the signature and geometry look you have for Sklar frames?

AS: With pressure from friends, I started to use a tube bender for my frames. I really like the way it looked and started to play with it more and more. You could say it was kind of a fluke. For how the bikes ride, I’ve always built bikes that fit what I want out of a bike. If you’ve ridden around Bozeman at all, you know that the trails can be pretty rough and fast. With riding here so much, I’ve figured out what materials along with geometry that works best for my riding style. That happens to work many other places, too.

BF: You’ve recently started offering “stock” builds with the Sweet Spot, was this to even more of a signature feel to Sklar bikes?

AS: I wanted to offer a stock bike to help cut down on the stress of picking all the parts with customers and talking through what I feel like would work best. I picked the parts, geometry and materials based on my philosophy of what I think a mountain bike should be. My friends got on the first few, and they all loved it. One day if the demand increases, I’d like to be able to offer them with quicker turnaround times.

BF: You chose not to show this year at NAHBS, was this because of the demand you already have from customer bikes and the Sweet Spot?

AS: It was a few things, I’ve gone to NAHBS many times and I never get to hang out with my friends as much as I’d like. I took this year to enjoy the event, ride bikes with friends and take a warm vacation. I tend to slow down my build schedule during the summer since the riding season is so short in Bozeman. With so many friends coming up to visit during the warm months, it can get very busy with friends.

BF: Speaking of Bozeman, it seems like the cycling community is pretty rad here.

AS: I moved here for school and the snow but I’ve stayed because of the cycling and the community here. My shop is connected to Alter Cycles,  and we host a Happy Hour every Friday. It’s great to get the community together and connected for something more than just riding bikes.

The Alter Cycles and Sklar bikes team took Colin out for a mid week spin.

BF: Bozeman is quite a bit away from the rest of the US, has BikeFlights.com helped much with getting bikes around the States and world?

AS: I was just talking with someone about how sweet BikeFlights.com is today. It makes everything so easy. It’s nice to not have to think about shipping or tracking bikes. I also like the donation thing (Buck Up for Bikes) - they’re all the best charities in cycling. I make sure to donate every time.

BF: Thanks so much for your time Adam - can’t wait to get out on the trail with you tomorrow.

AS: Yeah, we’ll keep it super chill, nothing big.

Post ride soak with Adam and Ivy.

Montana local and BikeFlights.com Support member Ivy Audrain rolled over to Bozeman to join us on a ride the following day. Don’t let the smiles and calm attitude fool you, a “super chill” ride for Adam turned into a 25-mile ride with 3,000 feet of climbing. 

[textingnct]

FRIENDS TO LOVERS WITH RENJUN PT. 2

after he had asked you to be his girlfriend, and after you accepted, he asked you again

he had your favorite flowers and a basket with all types goodies

and though you had said yes already and went through the confession, you both were still so excited and happy to finally start a relationship

the emotions you two held for each other will finally be able to pool out bc you're!! dating!!

the awkward tension of holding one another or giving the sweetest affection you won't give to others won't be weird anymore

and you can be all lovey without ppl saying anything bc!! you're!! finally!! dating!!

if anything, the other guys are finally happy that you two are together bc

dream couldn't take it anymore

all renjun did was talk abt you when you weren't around and his uwu's were always spilt

on the other hand.. the other members are always asking you how you feel about having a bf

specifically having renjun as a bf

and you're always blushing, it's so cute taeil can't help but squish you bc it's so soft

what you're most excited abt in the relationship is using pet names

of course you already use them, it's how you showed your affection as friends,

but now you can call him by his nickname and send him all the hearts you want

he's excited for the hugs and smooches, ngl he's shy and isn't sure if the first kiss will be everything you're expecting but he loves you sm

you're both always with the other dudes, and they're always trying to leave you two alone

but there's always that one person whose ready to ruin it

"why do we keep walking faster and faster?? also y/n and renjun were left back there.. let me go get them"

"mark omg donT you get it they're dating theY caN be alOne"

but lol here he comes with both of y'all with slight disappointed faces, pulling you two

so a few days after that, also a few weeks after you two started dating, the boy finally got the guts to take you out on an actual date

no one else taking care of you, no one else asking if you want to be alone and making it awkward... no one else to bother you

he was extremely excited as he was typing out plans and asking you where you'd like to eat and spend your time as a couple at

and just like when you were close buddies, you went to the cafe you always went to together

"hmm.. this is a new pastry, do you wanna try it y/n?"

"yeah yeah!! it's our favorite flavor i'm sure we'll both like it (:"

his heart was beating the whole time bc you looked so cute with what you were wearing and you smiled even more than usual

"i'm happy we can finally be together without mark parenting us or chensung giving us ugly faces"

you spoke up as you fed renjun a piece of the pastry, his face lighting up with joy from the taste

"or nomin giggling behind us"

you two giggled as you shared more memories about the others

sipping your coffees or beverages and sharing with one another

he loves it when you call him out lovingly, or when you want his attention

his heart just explodes and he's worried if it physically happens bc that's exactly how he feels everytime

"ahh babe... renjun why do you keep bothering donghyuck?? listen to me ):"

"o-oh i'm sorry... babe... i'll listen to you, wanna go get some ice cream it's pretty hot out today"

cue nomin sweating bullets and screeching their throats out

"sweetie you're out of bread... do you guys even eat? you need to eat bubs, stay healthy <3"

"actually i know it's pretty late but if you want!! we should go to the market!! i'll make kun come with us for he can pay for everything"

gets jealous pretty easily

it either be with the other guys, someone from school, or someone you're friends with.. he doesn't want anyone being handsy or cute with you

"why are you touching y/n's arm??? who are you?? are you even relevant? let's go babe"

"he was asking if i could tutor him for biology.. renjun don't be jealous, it's all fine"

"i have him for biology and he has a higher grade than me y/n.. you're mine okay?"

doesn't like it when the other members compliment you, though they do it to tease him nonetheless

"woaaaah, y/n you look really cute with your hair styled that way!! how come you've never done it like that??"

"jisung who do you think you are?? i'm older than you, respect me maybe?"

"but he was talking to y/n! and she's okay with receiving our compliments! you're just a jealous boyfriend"

"i'm just protecting my girlfriend chenle is that wrong?"

proceeds to attac

loves it when your relationship is hyped on

"ooh look at them being all cute.. awh they're wearing couple clothing (: my children are growing"

doyoung crying in the corner

you two are always wearing couple clothing might as well bring it up (((((:

almost half of your closets are filled with couple clothing...

and you have matching things scattered around your rooms

like matching cases, glasses.. possibly stickers

you're that one couple that have pictures of each other framed in your bedrooms

or have cute letters on your walls that you've made for each other

he's always drawing for you and your bedroom wall is filled with his paintings or drawings

he's your little picasso, and you love hyping him up abt his artwork bc he deserves it

and he has most of your stuff in his room, it either be from clothing for when you sleep over, even your school notebooks or a few of your makeup stuff

if u use any makeup lol i don't so i won't get too into that

you two happen to be really touchy and handsy with each other

either always holding hands or playing with the others fingers or cheeks, and hugging.. there just has to be some friction between the two of you

the cuddle couple™️

no matter what's happening, you'll always end up wrapped up in his arms, your head on his chest as he rubs your shoulder lovingly, talking to you about what's happened between him and the boys or how you've been

inseparable.. you two always go out together, it doesn't matter where the other will for sure follow behind

"heyyyy renjun, i'm about to go get my nails done with my friends what's up?"

"oh!! you're gonna get your nails done?? let me join along.. I'm not busy and seeing your cute face would be nice (:"

your own friends are sometimes surprised by how interested he actually is when he's out with you guys

"y/n you've totally gotten the best boyfriend.. mine doesn't want to tag along bc I get too loud..."

"ahhh well.. y/n's friends are my friends!! i'd like to have an open mindset as well"

"hmm maybe he just wants to spend more time with his honey.. for all we know he's cursing us out in his head... cute"

renjun desperately tries to speak over your loud giggly friends lmao but gives up anyways

but in all seriousness your friends rlly do love him as a friend and as your boyfriend

he's the best you've done and if you haven't date well you started off with such a great partner

and they all absolutely love how he's so open to what you like and how much he's willing to take to see you have a good time

like he could be waaaaaay out of his comfort zone but he'd do anything for you.. and figure out it wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be in the end

and though your friends do anything to tease him, and took a while to accept him completely, they love having him around

"hey y/n you should invite renjun no?? doesn't he like themed restaurants??"

"hm, you're right he does.. you're sure you'd be okay with him around?"

"uhh yeah the dudes really funny and he gives dirt about his friends"

you're the one he goes to first when he wants to give off steam or speak about one of the members

or if he was feeling sad or just out of it... he wants to tell you and let you know how he's feeling

he doesn't let his feelings eat him to the point where you start feeling worried for him and have to ask if he's okay... he wants to let you know and doesn't want to worry you even a tiny bit

and you try to be like that too but sometimes you're so deep in your head you even forget to tell him

resulting in the boy figuring out how you're feeling himself and keeps an eye on you, he wants to feel like you can tell him anything so he doesn't try forcing you to tell him what's up unless you're feeling rlly bad then that's when he's asking and asking

"hey babe... you hungry? i can make you something to eat, you haven't eaten much today"

"hm? oh oh, yeah if you're gonna eat i'll eat too"

"okay, i'll make smth quick, how was your day? you can always talk to me alright y/n?"

he loves you with all of his heart and he wants nothing but for you to be happy and to be by your side for as long as the world allows him to be

you as well love him so much, with such an amount that you thank the universe for letting such an amazing boy be by your side as your best friend and boyfriend

you both play huge parts in each other's lives and it would ruin both of you if anything happens to the other... you're both deeply in love with each other and see a far future together 💗💗

lol hey guys!! sorry for not updating quickly ): I was in a small slump and writers block lol... I've been a bit busy with family stuff too so (: but I'll be more active starting today lol

i'm working on smth for lucas for that anon who requested btw (: hopefully this was good enough! love you guys 💗

[just-got-me-wondering]

Interesting Highlights at work today:

One

Nai (coworker): *talking to me* are you dancing? Let's dance together

Ashley (coworker): you should be saying the to your wife

Nai: all three of us can dance together

Ashley: *laughs and walks away*

Nai: she's just jealous of the new generation and they're young sexy bodies

Two

Me: did you find everything okay today

A (customer): *apparently couldnt hear me* no, I'm not donating

Current status of my world

Cas is graduating Saturday

Roe v wade was recently overturned

I went to my second concert yesterday and my first two weeks ago

I still have my 4.0 in uni

I only have one final left

I recently got a new job at a little health store

I'm seriously considering downloading tinder because I want a bf so freaking bad

It was like 90 degrees today (should be illegal I swear)

I went to the mall today, bought some clothes, had nice convos with the cashiers, and seen baby geese

I wanna learn French, Spanish, and korean

I want to study abroad but I genuinely don't think I can afford to (financially and the fact that my cat is nearing the end of her life + I can't let her die alone)

Everybody's coming home from uni this week and my hometown is gonna be infested with people I went to highschool with. It's been nice the past school year knowing that I'm not gonna run into anybody I know but it's only a couple months before they leave again and I need to keep reminding myself of that to stay sane

We have to move houses soon, the second my Madre finds one she like we'll be leaving my childhood home to move into basically a shack

The housing market sucks right now and everything's over priced

Gas prices yesterday were 4.299$

Thursday May 12, 2022

[estuarries]

baby’s first liveshow commentary

hello lads i have decided to attempt doing @nihilist-toothpaste​ inspired video commentary/write up/review thingies!!!! welcome to ramble-y fun time

phil’s liveshow on august 10, 2017

his smile in the first minute makes my heart so happy i love him so much

i love the eye-tongue-eye emoji stop being mean to it

he’s a bit late bc he just finished filming a new ap vid!!! it took him longer than he thought it would to finish filming bc he was rambling. this is a #relatable brain thing

“i just said goodbye and now i’m saying hello again!” wrt filing and then doing a liveshow makes me rly happy bc i wouldn’t have thought abt it that way. i love phil’s brain

new vid clues: paper bag(?) and bubble wrap. amazingphil asmr part ii??

dan’s not joining the liveshow bc he has a headache but phil’s gonna hop into dan’s next one

closed eyes and happy gesticulation whilst telling sleepy-morning “unexpected window cleaning man frightened me” story

phil’s fight/flight/freeze response is freeze

“imagine if i had decided to make breakfast naked! ...if i was that kind of person…” its okay m8 we know u like to make nakey bro brunches w danyul

are the emoji pants the only pair of graphic pj pants he has now ??? why are they being featured so prominently lately ???? phil IS an emoji is the only phnnie conspiracy i can support now

in the ap vid phil did SCIENCE and REACTED TO THINGS (chemistry . reaction . hehe :3)

he’s out of tv shows to watch ….he and dan have watched so many series together over the years ..... i am emotional

phil hasnt watched in a heartbeat EITHER !! BLASPHEMOUS BOYES!!!

re: rick and morty. i strongly agree and it makes me so nervous that rick burps all the time i cannot focus on whats happening in the show bc rick gives me so much anxiety

he misses the cherry blossom tree in thehowlter’s front yard and they are hopefully going to put it in when they have money

“you’re all like dan! not everything has to be symmetrical!” thank u for these affirmations that not everything has to be perfect thank u for being chill. a chill phil. 

“i dont mind a little bit of wonkiness!” “i’m at a bit of a wonk!” “is the entire house wonky?” the only real phil branding is ~WOnKy~

phils hands are so beautiful???? i love them?????? @ 8:50ish

him trying to figure out his best side and saying “one? or two?” as options like at the optometrist when ur getting ur eyes checked. 

someone in the chat: “both!” phil’s cheeky grin/”don’t flatter me!!!” response

someone in the chat: “side three!” i snort laughed along w phil this is truly Good Content. dark!phil RISE

phil doesn’t think he really has a bad side and his easy neutrality wrt his physical appearance is dreamy. i love him and i love that he’s comfy w himself like this

phil had an eye infection and this is the first day he’s been without glasses…… why does he glasses-bait us like this …..

it’s really hard for him to concentrate with dilated pupils so that’s why he was being a wee bit wonky in the last liveshow

his eye is no longer infected and is “white and ready to see!”. the tone of his voice, his accent, and the phrasingof that reminded me so much of my british grandma who i havent seen in a few years and now i want to call her i miss her

wicked was “as the kids say...Wicked.” I SNORTED AKLHFAEIHKF

also i cannot believe that he and dan used the same silly phrasewhen talking about their opinions of wicked. is it still #copyrightinfringement if its your bf blatantly enterprising ur intellectual property?

phil was feeling a bit meh going into wicked but now he’s converted and a fan

he loved defying gravity :(

phil: every audience is important! me: crying

phil loves coming-of-age/college/highschool aus … Me Too

phil remix: the top fans to the tune of mad world “all around me are familiar faces...lillyphanstuff, joteleena…”

he’s had “mad world” and also that fuckin. ditty song stuck in his head

“...is one thicc bih - NO!” is the best thing ive ever heard

im so sad that phil hasnt experienced the joys of ditty. apparently he doesn’t have it downloaded and doesn’t really know what it is

14:07 is my new ringtone (he sang the ditty tune in “doot doot doot”s)

“bandicussy” IM DEAD

phil thought it was a good family activity to see dunkirk but it made his parents very emotional bc his maternal grandad was in the war

making your entire family cry is apparently the phil way to entertain

neither he nor dan understood the timelines of dunkirk upon first watch

after filming his ap vid he sanitized using vanilla cupcake hand sanitizer

he watches zoe’s bath and bodyworks candle/lotion hauls??????? ME TOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

apparently b&bw has some ~priiiicey~ candles. phil is the coupon clipping, consumer reports reading dad

he said that livestreaming games on dapg would be “dope”. i am reminded for the millionth time that he is a 30 year old white man. i am moderately uncomfortable.

jk it was someone in the chat who said it he was just reading the comment

“hi to the ‘phan’s moving boxes’ group chat”

facterino according to the nature man on tv: in england nature has decided that it’s autumn already. this is evidenced by blackberries coming out in august. because fall isstartingso early they’re expected to have a harsh winter but its fine bc he is excited for snow!

some climate change discourse

he’s not a big doctor who fan but his fav doctor is david tennant

he’s excited for the “lady doctor” and i’m uh. not a huge fan of that wording

23:02 pre-sneeze noises and hand motions are Delightful

apparently it’s southern england peeps who pronounce scone with a hard o (scOHne) and northerners pronounce it with a soft o (scAWn). phillu doesn’t know which pronunciation he uses

my mom grew up in cornwall (and moved to america when she was a teen. i’m american btw!) and pronounces it the northern way. we’ve had the scohne vs scawn debate!! lots of #britishfamilythings in this liveshow

philly homework motivation song @ 24:52

his first response to ppl being sad about school starting in a week is to calculate how many seconds are in a week so they can re-frame their time left in a way that feels more plentiful. i love this ???

i also really love how he tries to read premium messages from different people every time. idk that’s just really thoughtful and as a fan i really appreciate it

he knows that black makes him look good …. GOodBYe

today is world lion day!

phil is the one who puts the funny/random holidays on the dnp calendars. of course it was but im still so happily surprised  

doinganap’s sicth/sixth discourse

he’s reading people from the chat’s bdays and telling them what funny holidays are on their birthdays! i love how he finds different ways to get ppl in the chat involved every liveshow. i appreciate him so much !like yeah i know its a marketing thing but let me pretend its solely phil’s care for us

he wants to go back to japan

he can’t read or edit and listen to music at the same time! me neither

someone asked what a good pet would be and phil went on a lil tangent about how it’s important to have enough time to take care of the pet you choose!! dont get an exotic pet or a breed of non-exotict pet that requires a lot of time, money, or energy to care for it if you’re not at a point in your life where u can take care of it to the best of your ability! <3

hedgehogs are one of the most common animals in the uk??? what the heck?

he can’t remember whether or not he’s seen a hedgehog irl so he texts mum lester to ask <3 why is this the sweetest thing in the world . like seeing a hedgehog irl would be an experience that his family facilitated or even if he was moved out when it happened it would have been so exciting that he def would have told kath about it. so any way it happened she would know about it. my heart is Warm.

he’s not a huge summer candle burner but as soon as it’s september he’ll be on the pumpkin spice train

mum lester texted back and apparently his grandparents had a family of hedgehogs in their garage and his granddad built them a little hedgehog house to hibernate in :( wow!

phil might play shelter 2 … with dan. No Thank You. let us have some phil-only time plz 

shelter 2 is more of an autumnal game so he might do it later when he can cozy up with some cocoa and herd the badger babies

he feels a coffee buzz after five (5) chocolate-covered coffee beans. r u sure u even drink coffee phil????

rye bread is worse (in phil’s opinion) than regular bread and is ”claggy”. i busted out laughing and texted my mom IMMEDIATELY bca LOOOONG time ago we were at a family christmas party with my dad’s extended family and all of the Adults were playing scrabble. my mom ended up spelling claggy and everyone else was like THATS A MADE UP WORD WHAT THE FUCK!!!! and my mom was like ???? no its not? my dad’s family is from the eastern us and had never heard the word claggy before and i remember my dad giving my mom shit about it for YEARS afterward because she caused such an uproar. idk if it was a regional thing or if americans just don’t say claggy but REGARDLESS. my mom and i had a good laugh over this description of rye bread and we both love phil

he’s nervous abt what dalien is going to look like and become as he grows up. phil’s general reaction to dalien has been one of caution and nervousness and idk ?? someone more thoughtful analyze that please

his advice for making the most of the last bits of summer: do something you haven’t done before! immediately after bestowing upon us this Wise Advice he giggles and becomes self aware of his parental tone. Our Dad Is Becoming Self Aware

he doesnt swear around his parents?????? my mom says fuck all the time :0

2018 calendar and season two pastel plushies are in the works!

he’s singing another song to list the top fans. suggestions include toxic, the ditty tune, and the tetris theme. he goes with the ditty song and starts laughing in the middle of it so makes a seamless musical transition to toxic

if everything recorded properly with his new vid we should see it in the next few days!

he hopes that we have a lovely weekend and that whatever we end up doing brings us a bit of happiness :( i love him thank u phil

tiny little bonus song after he covers up the camera. schrodingers phil.

all in all i love phil’s liveshows and this has been the highlight of my day. thank u for reading!

[four-loose-screws]

Inigo in the Japanese, Revisited!

So, after a bit more searching, I decided that I’m not satisfied with my Inigo post.

Why?

Well, turns out… the change is all in his VOICE ACTING! Oh. Well, I feel silly. Guess I should have been playing my games with headphones instead of just turning down the volume in public.

He sounds like the fool always failing with the ladies for comedic effect in the Japanese, but his English voice actually sounds smooth and attractive.

This isn’t really something I need to write about, since the differences are obvious to most anyone who can hear. Check out the differences in his voice acting for yourself if you wish. Coping and pasting ファイアーエムブレム　アズール into YouTube search and clicking on anything that looks like one of his support conversations should be easy enough. 支援会話 is support conversation.

…But if you ignore the voice acting, like I mostly have, his character is pretty much intact.

If you want the short version, this is about as far as you need to go.

However, since I love to be thorough, here’s a breakdown of the changes in his supports…

An overall note I’d like to make is, pretty much any time in the localization he mentions having something other than tea when going out with a girl, it’s a change.

Note: I’m focusing on changes in Inigo’s lines here. Changes in the other characters are largely ignored. (They are nothing conversation changing anyway.)

Brady

Nothing to mention.

Kjelle

Inigo’s first line in A is much more desperate.

Japanese:

[アズール]

たのもー！　たのもー！ (I’m begging you! I’m begging you!) デジェル、また挑戦しに来たよ～！▼ (Kjelle, come challenge me again!) 今日こそは、(Today’s the day) 一本取ってみせるからねぇ！▼ (I’ll show you that I can win once!)

Vs localization:

Inigo: I hope you're ready, Kjelle! Today's the day. I can feel it!

In S, Inigo doesn’t make a sexual reference to Kjelle’s “heart area” and just asks “Huh? Your heart?”

Cynthia

Inigo is so much more vulnerable in the Japanese than the localization in this line from the C support:

             Japanese:

         [アズール]

うん、そうだよ～。(Yeah, you’re right.) 僕は今とっても落ち込んでるんだ…▼ (I’m really depressed right now…) あんなに怒られて恥ずかしい… (It’s really embarrassing to get told off like that…) もう僕の心は傷だらけだよ…▼ (My heart is covered in scars…) だから、しばらく (So please) そっとしておいてくれないかな…▼ (leave me alone for a while…)

Vs localization:

Inigo: Actually, she was GORGEOUS! And for such a beautiful young creature, she certainly packed a mean left hook... I think I just need some time alone. ...Well, that and some ice.

We never know exactly what Cynthia gets from her admirers in the Japanese, she just always says “sweets.”

The last line of the S adds a sentence at the end.

[アズール]

ご、ごめんよ、シンシア～！ (S-Sorry, Cynthia~!) でも一番なのは君だからさ～～！！！▼ (But you are my number one~~!!)

Vs localization: Inigo: Sorry, my love! You'll always be my number one! But there are so many other lovely numbers out there!

Not that conversation changing, but still noteworthy for the slight tone change.

F!Morgan

There’s this difference in A…

Japanese:

[アズール]

………▼

[マーク]

…アズールさん？▼ (…Inigo?)

[アズール]

…やられた。(…I was deceived.)

運がいいどころじゃないよ…▼ (My luck isn’t good at all…)

Vs localization:

Inigo: Oh, yes. It turned me around a full 360 degrees!

Morgan: Oh, that's great! ...Wait, no it isn't. That's not great at all!

Inigo: Ha! That isn't the half of it. I only WISH I'd come full circle to when we went out.

In the S Support, Inigo doesn’t say that Morgan’s plan is creepy. Also, Morgan’s last line is just her wishing their relationship the best with a “yoroshiku onegaishimasu.” No mentions of another expensive dinner, which I’m sure delighted Inigo’s wallet!

Nah

Girls really like being violent with Inigo in the localization, but not in the Japanese – in C, Nah doesn’t say that he normally gets punched in the face, she just notes that he’s not out with anyone today. When he says that he only approaches girls who look like they will say yes, she just tells him he’s lying. Instead of saying that they get violent, she says the get angry in the Japanese.

From the end of B, this line of Inigo’s is different…

Japanese: 良い子は大人しく (Now be a good, obedient girl,) 自分のお部屋に戻って寝ていなさい。 (and go back to your room and sleep.)

Vs. localization: Now why don't you run along and see if Uncle Chrom will read you a bedtime story?

In the A support, Inigo says that, when Nah’s transformation nearly scared him to death, he saw his dead parents, not any girls in black.

In S, instead of joking that Nah looks old and wrinkly, Inigo says that she looks cheerful and beautiful.

Father Support

Lots of stuff about Inigo picking up girls and sexual jokes were much more toned down in the Japanese…

             [クロム]

もうすぐ行軍の時間だ。(It’s almost time to march.) 仕方ないだろう。▼ (It can’t be helped.) 時間を忘れてナンパをしていた (For forgetting the time and picking up women,) お前が悪い。▼ (you are in the wrong.)

[アズール]

あ、そうだったね。ごめんなさーい。(Oh, that’s right. I’m soooorry.) よーし、今日もいっちょ頑張るかぁー！▼ (Alright, I’ll do my best today,     too!)

Vs localization: Chrom: We have a battle to prepare for, Inigo. Everyone else is ready to march. If you're mad, be mad at yourself for losing track of time.          

Inigo: Oh, heh heh heh... Whoops... All right, time to go trounce some enemies and find a village lass to reward my efforts!

Here’s another example…

絶望に支配されていたという未来から (You come from a future dominated by despair,) 来た割には、悩みが無さそうというか…▼ (but don’t seem to have many worries…) ルキナが持っている (Lucina has) 強い使命感や決意のようなものが、▼ (a strong sense of duty and determination,) お前からは微塵も感じられないというか…▼(but I don’t feel even a little bit of that coming off of you…)

Vs. localization: Chrom: For someone who came from an apocalyptic hellscape, you're awfully carefree. Seems like you haven't a care in the world past whose bed you'll be sharing tonight. Lucina's so driven and serious... It's strange you don't have any of that purpose.

And another…

えへへ。そりゃもちろん、(Eh he he. Of course,) 大勢の女の子たちにモテることだよー！▼ (it’s to be popular with lots of girls!)

Vs localization: Inigo: Indeed! I will not rest until every woman in the realm swoons at just hearing my name!

Olivia (mother)

Nothing to mention.

Noire

In their B Support, Inigo never says he’s going to the market, he’s just wondering where he’s going to go to find girls today, then, Noire asks him “you’re picking up girls again?”

In S, Noire doesn’t say that Inigo flirted with a sign in front of a baker’s shop. She just says that it seems he only asks out those who aren’t friends. Also, he doesn’t ask her to marry him, rather, to go out for tea as bf/gf.

Lucina

First line of C…

あのさ、ルキナ。▼ (Hey, Lucina.)

ルキナは未来にいた時から (Ever since you were in the future,)

厳しい表情をすることが多いよね。▼ (you’ve often had a rigid expression.)

Vs. localization: Inigo: Lucina! Wait! Hold up one second. ...Aw, what, no smile for old Inigo? There's a shocker.

M!Robin

As usual, the localization adds a bit to the conversation, this bit is from B…

食事の後、(After the meal,) お茶に誘おうと思ったんですが…▼ (I decided to ask her out for tea, but…) 突然『おう、待たせたな』とか言って、(suddenly, someone said “Hey, sorry to make you wait), たくましい体つきの彼氏が現れて…▼(and a buff guy appeared…)

Vs localization: Inigo: Well, we both finished eating, but right before I turn on the ol' Inigo charm... This huge knight lumbers up and gives me the stink eye! Well, actually he started yelling in some weird language and waving a sword around. But that's close enough to the stink eye where I come from.

“I just hope he doesn't end up on the end of a lance one day...” – This line from Robin at the end of B was completely added in the localization.

From A. Another story from Inigo that was a bit different in the localization:

[アズール]

それが…話の途中、軽い気持ちで (Well… during our conversation, in a lighthearted manner,) 『君ってスタイルもいいよね』って▼ (I said “And you have a great body!) 褒めてあげたら、(and praised her,) なぜか怒られちゃって…▼(and she got angry for some reason…) 僕も一生懸命、(With all my might,) 謝ったんですけど…▼(I apologized, but…) 『料理じゃなくて体が目的だったの！？』(“Your intention was my body, not my cooking!?”) と言って、厨房に引っ込んでしまいました…▼(She said, and withdrew to the kitchen…) …どうして怒っちゃったんでしょう？(…Why do you think she got angry?) 僕、褒めたつもりなのに…▼(Even though I praised her…)

Vs. localization: Inigo: Well, at one point I mentioned how smokin' hot she was. Innocent compliment, right? Apparently not, because boy, was she mad! I apologized right away, but she wouldn't have it. She said I was more interested in her body than her food. Then she said she'd rather sleep in an iron maiden than talk to me again! ...Er, and she may have also mentioned something about a chastity belt.

F!Robin, Severa, Gerome, Owain, Lucina

I’ve done complete translations of all of these! I’ve posted all the links below, so check out them for yourself…

F!Robin x Inigo: C Support – B Support – A Support – S Support

Severa x Inigo: C Support – B Support – A Support – S Support

Gerome x Inigo: C Support – B Support – A Support

Owain x Inigo: C Support – B Support – A Support

Lucina x Inigo: C Support – B Support – A Support – S Support

[bloojayoolie]

Alive, Being Alone, and Bad: Follow April 25 A MOTHER'S WORST FEAR The Door to Freedom.. The last thing I remember telling the police before they took me away was where Arabella's diapers were and how to take care of her. I felt confused scared and in shock at the thought of not being with my daughter all the time....having to uphold some ideal image of what a mother should be For those who don't know my story it probably feels like I just dropped a bomb on you so let's start at the very beginning... When I first found out I was pregnant the first emotion I remember feeling was anger At that time in my life I wasn't ready for a child. I was busy chasing guys, having sex, and working 11 hour 'dream job' shifts, and contemplating going to vet school. I thought I was 'connected and living the life but I wasn't. I was connected to a deeper drive. A drive to be good' at all costs...a drive to subscribe to what I thought on some level would award me love. You know? THE AMERICAN DREAM... Go to college get a degree build a family etc. None of it felt easy. It often felt like trying to swim against a strong current...the current being my heart. I subscribed to the american dream for a while and even now, as I look back, I wouldn't change the lessons I learned and how it inevitably led me to where I am today but before we get there back to the story.. When I got pregnant I was technically adult (26) but in many ways I was stll a child inside...I hadn't broken free from the constraints of expectations I had taken on from my parents and society. I was dead inside and using sex, work, social media, and food to cope with it. After I found out I was pregnant I considered abortion. Iremember my mom had told me she had one before yet something in me told me no. I wanted to go through with it even though I had no clue who I was or what I was doing. Time passed and my pregnancy didn't get any easier. Work was a struggle. I remember going to farmers markets selling dog treats at 30 weeks after my soul cat suddenly died in my arms. I was at an was shot. I felt alone more thanI ever had and relied heavily on my partner I time low. My self esteem to be there when he wasn't 'home' either I soon got a job as a secretary and found myself following the footsteps of my mother. She was a secretary when she was pregnant with me... Working for 'the man' while her dreams desires passions were put on hold to make a living to make a life for me. She wanted to give me the freedom she never had and the security that she never felt. Being the oldest female she became a mom before she was ready. She had to grow up before she was ready to help her mom who was crumbling as a mostly single mother of 5. I remember hearing stories about grandma lashing out in anger at all 5 kids and imagined that she must've felt trapped too..in this dynamic that has been going on for a LONG time. The cycle came here to break. If I knew what it would take to break this cycle I wouldn't have chosen the path I've walked. I would've told myself it would be too painful and wrong and yet my soul set everything up perfectly and whether I liked it or not. I had signed up for the death of the mother image whether I liked it or not. I chose my path. МОTHERHOOD... I've never been one to pretend to like something I don't and motherhood was one of those dislikes for me. The expectations of motherhood my brain downloaded for the sake of inclusion and connection (as a mother) fucking sucked. I bucked kicked and screamed at them the whole way. My anger was always bubbling beneath the surface ready to come out and react at every 'little" thing. Yet, thing is it WASNT little." It was never about the spilled milk, the poopy messes, or the loud toys. It was about how deprived of love, passion, and turn on I was. My cup was more than empty so the little things always came out BIG. didn't have the emotional bandwidth to deal with myself much less another human being. I remember it getting so bad that I ended up screaming in my Arabella's face when she was an infant because I felt sleep deprived and poweriess to what she needed. Her dad was asleep on the couch pretending to stay asleep because he had work. I felt utterly alone and enslaved to the needs of another human being. It was the perfect recipe for anger and resentment. aPSUa I was selling my soul for money and 'cookies' following the footsteps of a civilized American mom while my wild heart cried out in pain so deep that not even I could hear her. I had pushed her down so far that the only ways I knew how to deal with the grief of that separation at the time was reactivity sex and work. I felt trapped in a world I didn't want to live in. I felt enslaved to an image wanted to shatter. I wanted more for my life and Arabella and felt powerless to creating it especially under the belief that a mother MUST ALWAYS be with her children. I mean if that was true then I was fucked and so was she. When Arabella was about 1 I started going on Tinder. I felt a hunger rising in me. I wanted to feel wanted again and sex seemed like the next best thing. A quick and easy fix to patch over the gaping grief l couldn't bare to look at. After I started meeting quys for quick fucks it became clear how much I wanted to escape my reality as a mother. It became clear that I wanted to feel pleasure...that I wanted to feel ALIVE and even though sex seemed like the answer it wasn't. Time passed and I got bored with Tinder. I started focusing on my career and ended up meeting a guy at an intuitive arts fair. There was IMMEDIATE sexual chemistry. We started dating and my sex drive went through the roof. Not only was he better than the shotty tinder material he was well seasoned in his sexual ity. He gave me permission to express my sexuality in new and exciting ways that I had been longing for. I felt alive again and I attributed it to him. I spent as much time with him as possible and would have Baby sitters and family to watch Arabella just about every weekend. I was addicted to feeling alive thinking it came from HIM. I had no idea that he was pointing to something that I had long forgotten within me. I often felt wrong for having so much fun (without Arabella) when we were apart I never thought of her enough to text to see how she was. I felt guilty thinking that I should be like every other mom and sacrifice myself for her but deep down I knew that that wouldn't help me OR her. I started to see that the more I was happy the more she was happy. It was this fleeting happiness that had become dependent on whether or not I was with my bf or not. The less time I spent with him the more I went into feeling angry and powerless. I was relying on him to BE my source of pleasure. I still had no idea what it felt like to feel turned on in my own light. I spent a lot of time online sharing emotional videos of how motherhood was wearing on me. I eventually started talking about sex. I was having so much fun with my bf and my online followers that I made a sex group wherel encouraged us all to share sex stories in a safe space. As the posts trickled in a mom had mentioned how she rarely has sex because her kids are always around. Wanting to push the boundaries of society and not really thinking responded saying "Oh I've had sex in the same room hlla before I was bouncing on his cock while she was bouncing on his chest. as So of course, given that no context was shared around this statement, I started receiving messages telling me "you're going to rot in jail." This is still the hardest part of my story to share because of how shocking it is and how much it shuts people down and kicks their judgements into overdrive. The only thing that keeps me from NOT sharing it is my commitment to the bigger message behind all of this So context wise (if you're still coherently listening and curious)is: A was 2.5 at the time asleep in her bed next to mine. My bf and I woke up before her and started having sex and she woke up seeing me bouncing thinking I was playing so she started bouncing on her bed and came over to where we were I didn't want to shame her so I didn't just jump up and freak out. I allowed the situation to dissipate by focusing on the play aspect INSTEAD of the sexual. At the time I didn't know what the term sex positive meant.. All I knew was that I didn't want her to experience the sexual shame and shut down I experienced...that I didn't want her to feel a sense of 'wrong when it came sex And what gets twisted is that a sex positive approach is seen as grooming on INVOLVING children in sexual acts which is the direction CPS and the cops took my situation. My post was turned in a long with a picture of me and A in the bathtub where she was pouring water on my leg which was made to be perverted by a woman who had her chief of police husband and news reporter file a police report On the afternoon of August 1st I got a call from CPS and set up a visit with seize them. Later that night the police broke down my door with a warrant my electronics. They found a picture I had taken of A playing naked in a tub in my bfs backyard while he was sitting naked on the couch in the background. That was, as you can imagine, enough for the conservative county of Montgomery TX to take me in under the charge 'indecent exposure with a child At that point I was in pure shock. I couldn't feel a thing or smile for months and even though my story is dramatic my hope is that you don't get SO caught up in the drama that you miss the bittersweet beauty of the journey itself. Shock was the beginning of the mom image shattering for me....Resistance was the second. I didn't know how to let go so the first thing I went to to cope was work. (self development and hustling). I was determined to make everything right. I clung even more to the image of a 'good mom and what that would mean. Thoughts would run through my head like... What kind of mom doesn't have her shit together for her daughter? What kind of mom doesn't work and take care of everything? What kind of mom loses' her daughter? What kind of mom doesn't have a nice place and a school set up for her daughter? and whether I was aware of these thoughts or not they were driving me. The hard truth underneath it all was that I was grieving. I had been grieving most of my life. I thought I was grieving Arabella but through lots of retreats therapy tears and shifts I came to realize that what I was REALLY grieving was my heart (that Arabella so beautifully reflected back to me). I was grieving my dreams desires and passions that I had pushed down rejected and shamed. I was grieving my love. I had become so shut down afraid and walled off from the world that the big beautiful bold sensual radiant parts of me had become dormant. What first felt like a loss turned out to be the biggest miracle of my life. A miracle of love rising in in the 'impossible' Learning to dance through the biggest storm of my life was a miracle. To be as open loving and happy as I am now is a miracle (pain and beauty included). It was not easy to face my sexual shame, grief, and choices that led to an unfulfilled life. I was not easy to see that I was the one who created my life down to every last detail all the way from my childhood to now. The separation with Arabella being a huge part of that. And the joy and the sensual aliveness that has come from that (mess and all) is everything I've always wanted AND it is a path I would've never consciously chosen for myself. I have been reborn and as dramatic as my path has been I wouldn't change it for the world because know if I did I wouldn't be here speaking to it and delivering a message that has the power to create new worlds where women are free from the role of 'mother. If you're a mom still reading this I want to tell you something from my heart to yours from the depths of my soul to yours...as much as you may believe your role to be your children there is more love and purpose for you here. The world needs your light. I had no idea what the world was missing from me until started to come back to life laughing playing dreaming and creating. The color flooded back through the tears and the willingness to love again...I began to remember my innocence my DESIRE, my essence, and my wild heart that never burned out...my love that knows no bounds. Living my pleasure is the greatest gift I can possibly give myself and the children that choose me as their vessel to experience theirs. I'm traveling, dancing, and living in the city of my choice with incredible supportive friends. It seems like it wasn't that long ago when I was looking out through a glass wall wondering when it would be my turn to play and have fun. I sat on the sidelines pouting. I forgot who I was and that, with every cell of my being, I have the power to make my dreams come true. LOVE created the miracle that is now my life and when you say "But what about your daughter?" My response is this...she is not mine to claim. She is on her path and l am on mine. We are forever connected. I choose to trust that every decision I make simply because it feels good is a love letter I write not only to her but to every child woman and man on this planet One of the most brain dead, irresponsible “mothers” in existence. TD:LR in comments

[elsirason]

The meaning of HOME

I was thinking about when I was a child. There are some particular things I remember vividly about my childhood, some moments I spent with my grandfathers I have still so clear in my mind eye as I still can almost touch them.

Both my grandfathers are passed away, before their deaths they weren't themselves anymore for years because of mental diseases, so the time I remember them being "in shape" is really when I was in elementary school or even before that.

They were nothing alike. Just like my parents, they were like two worlds that seemed that could never meet, always moving by themselves and never find a way to connect.

I think, they could have been bond for just one thing: they loved the place where they were born.

I remember my mom's father in the car, while he took me to my basketball trainings, telling me that we lived in the most beautiful region of Italy. Because it was full of green.

I remember my dad's father when we went back from the Church on Sundays, raced against me on the hill to come back to the house, where my grangran was already waiting for us with Sunday's lunch. He never tried to slow down just 'cause I was a child, he always ran for winning that weekly bet, and I always was grateful to him for that.

I remember when we reached the peak, he would just look at the panorama down while waiting for me and my brother, his eyes sparkling like the ones of a child. He used to open an arm and telling us: "Look. Tell me if we do not live in the most beautiful place in the world."

And we looked at what was underneath us, and I always being shock at the beauty of what I saw.

I think I learned the meaning of "home" in those moments.

After my parents' divorce (thing that I always approved, strangely as it may seem, but that is another time story) I lost my concept of "home" for a while. When I came back from school my classmates used to say: "come on, let's go home". What I used to say was: "Today I'm with mom/dad. I'll go to my mom/dad's house." It wasn't said with anger, or frustration, nor even sadness. It was just normal.

Over time, I have subconsciously exchanged the terms of house and home. I believe inside of me, it felt like I didn't have a home anymore. I simply had more houses: that of my mother, my father, my grandfather and after some time also that of my father's girlfriends.

But they were just houses.

Still, when I got older and was able to understand better what I wanted, I was able to find a home again. It isn't the same as when I was a child, obviously, I didn't want that house for multiple reasons (mainly for taxes, it's too big for just a couple and it isn't worth it... My brother now lives in that house and for him, it isn't even enough big, so I'm duper fine with it)

The house where I live now is not too big, but I chose to buy it for some simple reasons:

It is basically in the heart of the village.

I've got access to the mountain and its forest and my land (full of cherries, that's important) right in front of the house (just need to do 127 steps to the left from my gate)

The ice cream shop of the village is the damn best I ever found and its costs are super affordable (not counting that if I bring them enough fruit, I get ice cream with my fruits)

Even if it's a little village, everything you need is "at the end of the street". You need fresh bread? Go to the end of the street. Wanna take your dog for a walk and let it play with the neighborhood's children? Go to the park at the end of the street. Wanna new personalized ceramic vase? Do you need wood because you want to make a shoe rack with your own hands? End of the street. Optical? Cafe? Restaurant? Market? Park? Pub? Kid's playground? Hairdresser? Tobacconist and newsstand? Beautician? Bicycle lane? Pharmacy? Guess what? Yeah! They're all at the end of the street! There's even a witch at the end of the street! It is not a negative way of calling an old woman, she likes it when you call her like that, she encourages you to: she's that kind of person who touches the pregnant mom's belly and can tell if there's a boy or a girl and if it's all well... Or cure you with herbs. It may not always be the healthier thing to do, I think you should always go to a doctor if you don't feel well, of course... But you can't go to a doctor every single time you got a headache, okay?

Anyway, I got a little off-topic here... Going back on the track!

The main thing here I wanted to say (and the original inspiration for this blog post) is that the other day I went hiking with my bf and my doggy on the mountain in front of our house. It is not very high, it takes you like an hour to stay broad with the times to go to the peak (where there's a beautiful and super cute little church, I love it) so it's super affordable and great when you just want to do a couples-of-hours-escape.

Well, we were at the peak of it, right? And I did what everyone would have done in my place: I looked down.

I looked down, almost like I was a child again, and a wave crashed inside of me.

I don't know how I managed not to start crying like a baby. I have been there before, but it just didn't click in the same way.

"You look like a sparkling child right now." I looked at him, who was smiling at me, and almost unconsciously I open my arms and happily said: "Look. Tell me if we don't live in the most beautiful place in the world!"

And I realized at that moment, that I was home. And funny thing, though: that I never left it. It was just... a masqueraded feeling.

Because I realized that home doesn't mean house, it doesn't count if you're on the other side of the world. I gotta say that being with the person (and pet) I love does count, because I wouldn't being here without him and I'd probably get lost without him, but it is not necessary.

Your home is you. Independently of where you are, with who you are, you are your home and that's all that matters.

I think I just wish someone has told me this before. But again, being able to find it out myself is priceless (and that's my ego showing off, ooookay now I shut it down.)

I still think those memories I own of my grandfathers are the most beautiful ones, and that if now I love where I live I have to thank them because they were the ones who taught me this feeling.

Everyone deserves this feeling.

I truly hope you're able to grab it and keep it as near your heart as you can. It is beautiful because you'll never feel lonely with this feeling inside of you, no matter where you are or what you're doing.

If you have this feeling, no one can tell you you don't belong in a place, because you do and you have proof of that.