#i will post pictures tomorrow when it is sunny :)

[ariaofsorrows]

guys i just did my nails and they look like the cv soul orbs you collect after a boss fight

[greypetrel]

WIP Wednesday

Tagged by @dellamortethelesser, thank you so much Julian! Busy work week, I'm not posting anything written because it's going up today or tomorrow, but let me scrape the wips folder...

Some Character design over nepo baby NEEVH Niamh. I have the base Veil Jumper-ish armour, for now, I'm trying to think of a good palette.

In my canon, my Rook used all her money to get a new identity and a café to Lucanis and get him out of the Crows. Here's the inauguration picture of "I Do Ciani" ("the two Cianos" in venetian dialect - thank you Ali for the help with it! Lucanis > Luciano is the closest Italian name > Ciano is Luciano's nickname -a very old sounding one- > They're two!). Spite decided he wanted feet, and he also wanted horns like Taash. They got him a Qunari skeleton. u_u

Sloooowly working on the sleep meme, some cullavellan for you all. They're actually all four, Kevin just hasn't shown up yet. Aisling is sporting a bisexual mom bob (the strongest of the bobs), and Cullen got used to not having vital space when sleeping.

Some old sketch for the Whale-not-AU I'm planning to work on now, until I gather a much necessary research information (aka: how many people I need for a research boat crew? Which boat should it be? A Schooner could be nice for speed, but it seems big and pricey and not really fit for stormy icelandic waters. I have books I'm scraping.). For now, have the two having a nice picnic on a sunny sardinian beach.

Tagging! @ndostairlyrium @shivunin @pinayelf @broodsys @schwarznummer1 @pickelda @chanafehs @layalu (consider this for any blog you'd like v.v) @heniareth @inquisimer @dreadfutures and YOU READING!

[twilightmalachite]

Madara Mikejima Mini Talk - Guardians◆Eye and Last Mission

Translator: Mika Enstars

"Heheh, it's a pretty good picture, isn't it? I feel it's been a looong time since I last played the piano."

Season: Winter

The Side I Want to Show

Location: Recording Booth

Madara: Alright, this is the last one… There. Like this?

Still, never thought there’d be a day where I’d have to write so many signatuuures!

And under your supervision, too, Anzu-san. Do you have that little faith in meee?

💬 You need someone to watch over you, else…

Madara: “…you have a feeling I’ll end up hurrying off somewhere”…? Well, can’t say the possibility doesn’t exist.

That being said, sorry for keeping you here for so long, Anzu-saaan.

💬 That’s right…

Madara: Hahaha! Usually that’s when people deny iiit!

Well, I’ll have an endless amount of time to spend with you now, right, Anzu-san? I’ll take this opportunity to earn back your trust little by little! ♪

💬 Well, you have a submission date coming up…

Madara: Ahh, do I need to send these all to the magazine’s editor? I’ll at least help you paaack!

But really, who in the world came up with the idea of “giving away 100 autographs of Mikejima Madaraaa”?

Madara: Actually, have you seen my gravure shoot in this magaziiine? It was a project I picked up so I could show a different self than usual.

My image differs based on my unit, MaM or Double Face—so I was worried about which of my selves would work beeest.

The photograph in the end… shooould be posted around here somewhere.

💬 You look cute, don’t you?

Madara: I’m not sure how I feel being called cute being a big man like myself, but…

The cameraman’s good at his job, riiight? I was surprised when I saw the final photo as wellll!

💬 You look cool.

Madara: Heheh, it's a pretty good picture, isn't it? I feel it's been a looong time since I last played the piano.

Once I get a feel for an instrument, I want to try something new, you knooow. I'm aaalways looking for something to like!

💬 This is…

Madara: Hahaha! They say that a well-liked man is dripped even with water, but… I’m far from dripping, I’m soaking weeet!

They requested to photograph me standing in the pouring rain. What a mysterious situation, looking back on iiit…

Madara: Whoops, I’m out of time. I gotta get moving soon.

…My next job? Ahh, I’m filming for a song program at a TV station.

Are you heading over there toooo, Anzu-san? How about we go together, then!

💬 I’ll call a car over.

Madara: It’s close enough that we don’t have to go by car… is what I was thinking, but it looks like it’s gonna rain, huuuh?

I have work outside tomorrow, hopefully it’ll be sunny then.

💬 What song will you be singing?

Madara: I plan to sing the song we performed in my shuffle project todaaaay!

It’s been a long time since I've gotten to sing with Kuro-san and the others, I’m reaaal excited! ♪

💬 I have to get my luggage.

Madara: Let's meet in the lobby 10 minutes from now, in that case!

It looks like it's gonna rain outside, so make sure to grab an umbrellaaa!

Showing One’s Hand

Location: Stage

Madara: “♪~♪~♪”

…Oh, Anzu-san. So you came on siiite! I got here toooo early.

There’s still time before the show, sooo I was warming my throat up with some vocal work.

💬 Huh…?

Madara: Where’s Kohaku-saaan? He told me he’d be arriving last minute todaaay.

Hopefully he’s not too pressed for time at his previous site. Let’s wait for him patiently…♪

💬 You seem to be in good shape.

Madara: Enthusiasm is high! I have a tight schedule today, so I thought to hype myself uuup!

After filming here, I have an interview to do and appear in yet another program… I’m suuure in high demand!

💬 It’s a good song.

Madara: Haha, although this song isn’t from Double Face, but from MaM, riiight?

It’d be nice too be able to perform it on a song program some day. Haha, could you help me out there, Anzu-san?

Madara: By the way, the project we’re working on—The MaM’s Parenting Struggle Diary, was it? How long have you been planning thaaat?

I can't help but find whatever Ibara-san does shady, but he does seem to have greaaat management skills.

Anzu-san, are you suuure you aren’t also just being played to that guy’s convenience?

💬 That’s not the case.

Madara: Well, I suppose there are also parts of the project that are your ideas, but, still.

I don’t want you to get too deeply involved, Anzu-saaan…

💬 It’s a well-thought-out project.

Madara: The first episode didn’t seem to get that much of a response, so guess we’ll just have to wait and see, huh?

Looks like we’ll be having a guest next time, so I suppose it's time for us to show our hand on what kind of show this will beee!

💬 Don’t you fret and leave it to me.

Madara: Hmmm, I just can’t trust you when you’re smiling confidently, you knooow…?

…That’s your line? Hahaha, well I am aaalways packed full of confidence! ♪

Madara: Ahh, looks like they’re about to start setting up for real nooow!

I think I’ll head on back to the dressing room so I won’t get in the way. I’m sure Kohaku-san will be arriving aaany time now.

Are you planning to stick around until filming is over, Anzu-saaan?

💬 That’s the plan.

Madara: Well, there’s a lot of ES idols featured in today’s show, aren’t theeere?

I bet the other idols will be overjoyed to have you here, Anzu-saaan!

💬 That’s right.

Madara: Looks like there are other members from the P-Association around here today, huuuh!

I’d love to hear their thoughts when we’re done todaaay! I’m lookin’ forward to it!

💬 Yes, but…

Madara: Does your schedule have you in and out today? Busy today, huuuh?

Are there sponsors scheduled to come today? Then we’ll reaaally have to make sure Double Face blossoms! ♪

[sunnythegyarufreak]

Misconceptions about gyaru

Hey guys! I know that I said I was done for today but I couldn't resist making one final post tonight. Don't worry! I've already finished the post I promised you guys and it is scheduled to post at noon tomorrow. But for now let's get into the topic of this post.

There are many misconceptions about gyaru and I'm here to sort of clear up some of these! So let's get startedddd

"Gyaru was never inspired by black people. It was inspired by bay watch"

This is VERY untrue. If you watch Haruka on tiktok or youtube you would know she has a mom who used to be a gyaru. And in a video with Haruka's mom she stated that gyaru was never inspired by bay watch and most of the inspiration was from black people and their style. There is even a gyaru substyle called "B-Kei" that is DIRECTLY inspired by protective hairstyles, hip hop and rap music, and street fashion.

(The picture below is Haruka!! Her tiktok username is otknoharuka and her and her mom were on cybr.grl’s channel!)

"Only Japanese people can do gyaru"

A lot of non gals say this but this is incorrect. Everyone can be gyaru! I stated this in my first post but anyone of any gender, size, and race can be gyaru. One very popular gyarusa 'Black Diamond' is known for their big group and how they impacted the gyaru style and how others saw gyaru. One of their main goals was expanding gyaru to different countries! Many members have said that anyone can be gyaru. Their whole thing was basically "world domination" because they wanted to spread the message of gal and wanted others to embrace and join this unique style.

"Gyaru is asian fishing"

SOOOO many people assume that gyaru is asian fishing because it's a Japanese fashion subculture. Asian fishing is where someone pretends to be asian and does makeup to make themselves look asian. Gyaru ISNT this. There is a difference between asian fishing makeup and gyaru makeup. With gyaru makeup, if there's a droop the droop goes down and extends downwards. With asian fishing makeup the eyeliner extends the eye outwards and makes the person appear to have slanted and small eyes. As you can see in the image below the asian fishing makeup elongates and slants the eye while dolly makeup widens the eye and makes it appear bigger.

"Anything besides Yamanba isn't gyaru"

This could never be so far from the truth. In fact during the 90's when gyaru first started Yamanbas and Manbas weren't even considered gyarus by other gals at the time. It was later in the 2000's when people started to call Yamanbas gyarus and now Yamanba/Manba is a gyaru substyle. People will automatically assume that anyone who isn't wearing big lashes and white makeup on their eyelids isn't gyaru. But many gyaru substyles require soft dolly makeup such as Agejo and Himegyaru/Himekaji where the focus is more on the clothes and hair than the makeup. Unlike styles like Kurogyaru, Manba, Yamanba, Ganguro, and Gonguro where the main focus of the style is the dramatic makeup and deep tans.

"If you don't tan you aren't gyaru"

While many gyaru substyles do require tanning many other substyles don't require tanning! And some styles like Yamanba/Manba which heavily rely on the tan and makeup have substyles specifically for people who don't want to or can't tan but still wear Yamanba makeup. Not tanning doesn't make you any less gyaru :)

That's it for today lovelies! Atleast until my next post lol. But i hope this blog post helped clear up any confusion about gyaru! If you guys still have any questions I would be happy to answer them :D For now I shall bid you gals farewell. This is Sunny signing off!!

[tj-dragonblade]

WIP Share tag game

Tagged by @honeyteacakes - thank you!

Rules: Post snippets/screenshots/etc. from three of your WIPs!  Art or Fic!

Late Mer-Hob AU for the Dreamling Week prompt 'ocean'

In the depths below, a flash of orange.  Then, rising nearer, a very human face takes shape, coming to a stop half a meter below the surface.  Brown hair floats like kelp around his friend's head, dark eyes crinkle with delight at the sight of him, and then his friend is arcing backwards into a happy loop, the bright orange of his tail with its vivid blue spots curving gracefully after.  The sunny yellow of his primary fin rises out of the water smoothly, barely making a splash as it follows back under, and then his face is breaking the surface, tipped up, smiling like the sun.

Beautiful, Dream thinks, and again thanks whatever cosmic force he may or may not believe in that his near-drowning six months ago had led him here.

"Hello, my friend," he says, and the other beams at him, shakes water from his hair and smooths it back again.

"Hello to you, Dream," he says, dimpling prettily, crossing his arms to rest on the edge of the cave floor, tail fin flicking lazily up out of the water behind him and splashing gently back.  Tendrils of wet hair fall loose to frame his face despite the smoothing-back he gave them, and Dream likes to think that perhaps one day he'll be bold enough to reach out, tuck them behind his friend's ear affectionately.

But today is not that day.

Tentatively titled Inspiration (Smune day 2 prompt 'paper')

"Guys…I'm so sorry, not tonight, I can't.  I have to get this paper done."  Hob pushed up his glasses and dragged his hands over his face, the picture of academic exhaustion.  "The deadline for submission is noon tomorrow and I've been working on it for ages, and it's almost done but I just.  I can't get the conclusion to come together right and it's making me absolutely bananas."

A frown creased Calliope's brow; leaving Dream to shut Hob's front door, she moved across the room to hover over Hob, glancing at his laptop screen.  "How long have you been working?"

"Hours.  All day," Hob groaned.  "I'm so close but I just can't get there and it's driving me mad."

"Perhaps a break—" Dream started, but Calliope held up a hand to cut him off; when she spoke, it was still to Hob.

"You are favored of one of the muses; you struggle to capture your thoughts in inspiring words, yet you do not call upon her for her gifts?"  Her tone was somewhere between teasing, disappointed, and disapproving, and Hob blanched, just a little.

"I—no!  I would never!  You can't possibly think I'd presume to take advantage—?"

"There is no presumption in accepting a gift freely offered, Hob."

Ambrosia (Dream appreciating Hob's messy humanness/born of several Smurch and one Smapril prompt) (mildly spicy)

"Ugh," he says, poking at the wet smears on his chest.  "Wow.  That's…a lot."

Dream smirks from where he’s laying atop him.  "I enjoy the sight of you wearing it."

"Clearly."  Hob makes a face, wiping his fingers clean in a bit of chest hair that's still dry.  "Well, if we're going to make a habit of it.  Maybe I should shave all this off."

Dream stiffens, pushes up further, gives him the most affronted look possible.  "You will not."

"Oh, I won't?"

"Hob Gadling.  I will not allow it."

Hob is ready to say something lightheartedly over-dramatic about 'you DARE presume to tell me what I can or can't shave', but something in Dream's tone stays him.  There's a note of flagrant alarm underneath the imperiousness, and Hob smirks as the lightbulb goes on.

"Got a real weakness for body hair, haven't you."

Tagging, no obligation, but I would love to see if you feel like sharing:  @galacticstingray , @rooftopwreck , @chaosheadspace , @staroftheendless , @teejaystumbles

[callunavulgari]

"The kingdom come, the rise, the fall The setting sun above it all I just wanna be somebody to you"

Heather’s Top 50 Songs of 2023

thumbs — sabrina carpenter // dragostea din tei — feuerschwanz // edge of midnight — miley cyrus & stevie nicks // warrior of the mind — jorge rivera-herrans // happier than ever — kelly clarkson // flowers — miley cyrus // see you again — miley cyrus // six — six cast // fairytale — joel sunny // middle of the night — elley duhe // our light — lyn // it's terror time again — sesamoid // eat your young — hozier // step into darkness — dubkiller // got you — ga eun // just a man — jorge rivera-herrans // labour — paris paloma // the tornado — owl city // green green grass — george ezra // suzume — radwimps // can't take my eyes off you — boys town gang // survive — jorge rivera-herrans // mermaids— florence & the machine // unknown/Nth — hozier // we didn't start the fire — fall out boy // hold me like a grudge — fall out boy // where is the justice — death note musical // 30/90 — andrew garfield // everyday — buddy holly // i'm just ken — ryan gosling // what was i made for? — billie eilish // speechless — naomi scott // son of nyx — hozier // damage gets done — hozier & brandi carlile // paradise valley — honey and the sting // stand by me — florence & the machine //  my prayer — the platters // baby don't hurt me — david guetta // quietly yours — birdy // someone to you  — banners // one more time — blink 182 // adelaide — ramblewood // i'm just your problem — lur // you're gonna be okay — ashh blackwood // mr lonely  — angel olsen // now and then — the beatles // vois sur ton chemin — bennett // history is now — natalie holt // purpose is glorious — natalie holt // the power — borislav slavov

short version | long version | spotify wrapped

short version is the link to what you see here, my helpfully abridged version. long version will lead you to the 141 song, 8 hour and 17 minute supercut playlist which i’ve been slowly cultivating since early january. spotify wrapped will lead you to a mixture of the long and the short version, which is honestly pretty accurate but does not helpfully represent my ear worms of the week. i also skewed my data for it by listening to the spiritfarer and hollow knight soundtracks on repeat to ease the wedding anxieties.

also fun fact, the cover for this year's mix is actually a picture of the tree outside our room during our wedding day.

under the cut are the lyrics that really resonated with me and only a little personal tidbits from this year, because let's be real, nobody cares.

i. thumbs || sabrina carpenter 'cause that's just the way of the world it never ends 'til the end and then you start again

This one was playing as we left the florence concert late last year and dogged me all through january and february last winter. ii. dragostea din tei || feuerschwanz Alo, salut, sunt eu un haiduc Si te rog iubirea mea primeste fericirea

Yes, it's a metal cover. Yes, I found it on tiktok. Yes, I love it unconditionally.

iii. edge of midnight || miley cyrus & stevie nicks The midnight sky is the road I'm takin' Head high up in the clouds (oh, oh)

There's THREE Miley Cyrus songs on here this year. Nuts. I really loved cranking this while driving home from Newark back when I was still hybrid. Much serotonin in those gray winter months. iv. warrior of the mind || jorge rivera-herrans & teagan earley Maybe one day they'll follow me and we'll Make a greater tomorrow, then they'll see Is it REALLY a surprise that Epic grabbed me by the throat this year?

v. happier than ever || kelly clarkson You ruined everything good Always said you were misunderstood Made all my moments your own Just fucking leave me alone I actually ended up hearing the Billie Eilish version of this first, but I ended up reading a post about how Billie's version was for the shitty boyfriend's of the world but Kelly's was to her mom and just. That resonated SO so much that it's stuck with me ever since. I have a complicated relationship with mine. She didn't come to my wedding this year. Anyway, definitely screamed this in my car on long drives. vi. flowers || miley cyrus i can buy myself flowers write my name in the sand

I need to preface this with the fact that my partner and I have a wonderful relationship that I wouldn't trade for the world. This song is still a fucking banger. vii. see you again || miley cyrus I got my sights set on you and I'm ready to aim I have a heart that will never be tamed

Third Miley song of the year, I believe all ear worms before March. I ended up getting in a Tiktok loop of body transformations set to this song while I was really getting into working with weights. It was great inspiration that I DEARLY needed that early into things. The song is also incredibly catchy. viii. six || six cast we're one of a kind, no category too many years lost in his story I honestly feel like we saw this musical last year but this song in particular dogged me into this one. ix. fairytale || joel sunny *instrumental*

Found this instrumental version of a much beloved song due to a random discover weekly and loved it so much that I seriously considered using it in my wedding. x. middle of the night || elley duhe Come, lay me down 'Cause you know this 'Cause you know this sound

Shh, it's the horny booktok song. I won't be shamed. xi. our light || lyn 夢を夢と気づいた夜 君を見つめ瞼を閉じる 温もりも重ねた手も声も 目覚めれば微睡みへと消えて

I have been trying to finish persona 5 royal since 2020. this year, i finally beat it. xii. it's terror time again || sesamoid Oh, you just might die of fright, It's a terrifying time.

Yes, it's a Scooby Doo remix. yes, I love it. xiii. eat your young || hozier I'm starving, darling Let me put my lips to something Let me wrap my teeth around the world The horniest Hozier song since Take Me to Church in my humble opinion. I adored it immediately. xiv. step into darkness || dubkiller Blood on your hands, maybe you're dreaming? Do you believe, nightmares you're seeing?

Tiktok? xv. got you || ga eun Will you promise you’ll rescue me Take me from eternal loneliness

This was the theme song (I think?) to a Korean drama we were obsessed with for a little bit and I don't think we ever finished? Song is interesting though and sticks with you. xvi. just a man || jorge rivera-herrans When does a ripple become a tidal wave? When does the reason become the blame? When does a man become a monster? More Epic, because I am a mythology loving twelve year old at heart. The many, MANY tiktoks to this particular song did not help.

xvii. labour || paris paloma The capillaries in my eyes are bursting If our love died, would that be the worst thing?

It's catchy. I had more typed out but tumblr fucking ate it, so fuck it.

xviii. the tornado || owl city A little rain never hurt no one, so I kept pressin' on And I tried to tell myself it's always darkest before the dawn

Another song I played very loudly while driving home.

xix. green green grass || george ezra Green, green grass, blue, blue sky You better throw a party on the day that I die

Dancy song!

xx. suzume || radwimps ル・ル・ルルルルル・ルルル・ルルルルルル ル・ル・ルルルルル・ルルル・ルルルルルル We saw this in theaters! I really loved it! xxi. can't take my eyes off you || boys town gang You're just too good to be true Can't take my eyes off of you The Tiktok dances got me. More serotonin when I really needed it. xxii. survive || jorge rivera-herrans Six hundred lives I'll take Six hundred lives I'll break And when I kill you, then my deed is over

More Epic! xxiii. mermaids || florence & the machine You only get one night upon the shore So dance like you've never danced before

I love Florence. That is all. xxiv. unknown / nth || hozier You know the distance never made a difference to me I swam a lake of fire, I'd have walked across the floor of any sea

Hozier was honestly the artist that kept me the most company this year if I'm not counting Spiritfarer or Hollow Knight. xxv. we didn't start the fire || fall out boy Mars rover, Avatar, self-driving electric cars SSRI's, Prince and The Queen die World trade, second plane, what else do I have to say?

I know it won't happen, but I hope every generation does a remake/remix of this song. Also, I saw Billy Joel himself in concert this year! xxvi. hold me like a grudge || fall out boy Hold me, hold me like a grudge The world is always spinning, and I can't keep up, whoa Honestly, I was a fan. xxvii. where is the justice || death note cast isn't everybody sick to death of all this stuff can't we all stand up and say enough?

This song gets stuck in my head like no one's business. xxviii. 30/90 || tick tick boom cast making choices, wicked witches poppy fields, or men behind the curtain tiger lilies, ruby slippers clock is ticking, that's for certain I still think that if Stranger Things did a musical episode Steve Harrington would have Andrew Garfield from Tick Tick Boom energy. xxix. everyday || buddy holly Every day seems a little longer Every way, love's a little stronger

Good Omens 2 dropped! I loved it! I also didn't love it! But mostly I was just happy. xxx. i'm just ken || ryan gosling I wanna know what's like to love, to be the real thing Is it a crime? Am I not hot when I'm in my feelings? And is my moment finally here, or am I dreaming?

I went to see this movie by myself because I was sick of waiting for someone to go with me and honestly had a great time. It was silly and fun and I loved the fact that so many dudes got so incredibly butt-hurt about it. xxxi. what was i made for || billie eilish 'Cause I, I I don't know how to feel But I wanna try

God, this song. It made me cry at the end of Barbie and I've been getting up in my feelings about it ever since. xxxii. speechless — naomi scott I will take these broken wings And watch me burn across the sky Apparently this is from the Aladdin live action? I haven't seen it so I can't confirm, but I DID hear this song this summer and fall in love with it. xxxiii. son of nyx || hozier *instrumental* This one might be my favorite? xxxiv. damage gets done || hozier And, darling, I haven't felt it since then I don't know how the feeling ended But I know being reckless and young Is not how the damage gets done

Another Hozier!!!!!! xxxv. paradise valley || honey and the sting Take what you want from me I bring it willingly

I may have done these next three out of order, but hey! I got married this year! As some of you may know, paradise valley has been the song that I have been obsessed with since I first heard it on Wolf 359 back in 2018/2019. I couldn't figure out a way to make it work in a traditional sense for the wedding, so I ended up using it as a private last dance. As the clock was hitting ten o'clock we had our dj gently shoo the stragglers out the door and just crooned this to each other in the dark. It was probably my favorite part of the entire night. xxxvi. stand by me || florence & the machine So darlin', darlin', stand by me Oh, stand by me

This was our first dance. As it should be. We timed our few spins around the 'darlins' and it honestly went great. 10 out of 10, would dance again. xxxvii. my prayer || the platters My prayer is to linger with you At the end of the day I did a sneaky thing. It was Nick's grandparents 65th wedding anniversary a few days before our wedding, so I quietly found out "their song" and had our DJ play it as the first official couples/slow dance of the night after wishing them a happy anniversary. They cried. I cried. The photographer cried. It was great. xxxviii. baby don't hurt me || david guetta What is love? Baby, don't hurt me

Yeah, it's just a catchy cover. xxxix. quietly yours || birdy I've always been yours Only yours This was from the Persuasion soundtrack and god, it's just so achingly haunting. xl. someone to you || banners I don't wanna die or fade away I just wanna be someone Well, doesn't everyone?

Look. I just wanna be someone. xli. one more time — blink 182 Do I have to die to hear you miss me? Do I have to die to hear you say goodbye? I don't wanna act like there's tomorrow I don't wanna wait to do this one more time One more time. I got tickets to their concert next year. We'll see if they cancel this one. xlii. adelaide || ramblewood Wish you could lay those shadows down And find your way back home

I think this is a local artist? I fell in love with the song though. xliii. i'm just your problem || lur Sorry I don't treat you like a goddess Is that what you want me to do?

Watched Fionna and Cake in like a day and a half and fell all the way back in love with Bonnie and Marceline. xliv. you're gonna be okay || ashh blackwood puff out your chest, take a deep breath you're gonna be okay

This showed up on an anxiety mix and now I literally sing it to myself if I'm having a fast day. It is VERY short, but impactful. xlv. mr lonely || angel olsen Now, I am a soldier A lonely soldier Away from home Through no wish of my own My Yuletide fic that has not yet been revealed was about [REDACTED]. I listened to this and a handful of other sad, lonely songs while writing it. xlvi. now and then || the beatles Oh, now and then I want you to be there for me This song has DEVASTATED me since it came out. I will not be the same again. xlvii. vois sur ton chemin || bennett Vois sur ton chemin Gamins oubliés, égarés

Another tiktok ear worm. I'm not much for techno, but I love this one. xlviii. history is now || natalie holt *instrumental*

Loki fucked me all the way up, guys. I know everyone is crying about it, and I'm crying too! It's beautiful and tragic and one of the most fantastic endings for a character arc that I have EVER seen out of Marvel. I HOPE they leave it alone. I hope they leave it as is so we get to keep the beautiful ending and they don't fuck it up. xlix. purpose is glorious || natalie holt *instrumental*

Again, fucked me ALL the way up. I wept. And watched it three times in a row. These two songs will be on my writing playlist for the rest of time. l. the power || borislav slavov I found you too soon Shining star of mine, hold tight Don't fight the power

I have not officially finished Baldur's Gate. However, every iteration of this song is haunting me.

[sheliesshattered]

So it turns out I completely forgot to take any pictures of my last sewing project. Oops. In fairness, it's a gift for my mother, whose birthday is tomorrow, and I didn't want to post any pictures until after it had arrived at her house and been opened. But I still meant to take some pictures, if not of the process at least of the final product. It wasn't until I got home from mailing it that I realized I full on completely forgot to take any photos at all. Oh well. Maybe Mom can snap a picture or two for me since I flat out forgot. Pics of that if/when I actually have them, lol.

But I'm already into my next sewing project, and I've resolved not to make that same mistake again. Which, really, is nearly the same mistake as I made with my fleece dress last month, when I didn't take any pictures at all until all the major seams were sewn. After documenting so much of my sewing throughout 2023, I seem to have completely forgotten all about taking photos of my works-in-progress the last couple of months. I aim to get back on course with this project, though!

The project in question is a hooded wrap sort of thing, made from the black and gray brushed cotton herringbone that I got a bolt of on ebay a couple of weeks back. After washing the bolt, it looks to be about 43" wide and roughly eight and a half yards long. I want to make an overdress for my fleece dress out of it too, but I think this wrap project will only take up about a yard and a half, maybe two, so I should have plenty left for an overdress. And then I can wear the wrap and the overdress together, potentially.

But really the thing I'm sewing this for is my birthday, which is coming up in about seven weeks. I have somehow talked Jack into going to Disneyland and spending all day in the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge area so I can pilot the Millennium Falcon as many times as possible, and doing some original costuming "Batuu-bounding" while we're there, too. Because I am nothing if not a costume nerd, and my life-long love for Star Wars has recently been reignited, so what better way to spend my birthday than dressed up in one of the best examples of 360 degree set building that I've ever seen.

After combining a bunch of pieces from my closet and my costume boxes, I've come up with an outfit that I like the look of, for a general purpose Force-sensitive smuggler pilot: my every-day tall Doc Martens with wraps over them, leather-look leggings, the vest from my Moment cosplay, and various accessories from my pirate-core and Wasteland days. I may need a better shirt to go with it, but I'm hoping to hit up Goodwill at least once or twice between now and then and see what I can find. The final choice will depend on a bit on the weather that week, which in late February in southern California can be literally anything from the cusp of freezing to 80 degrees, sunny or rainy or windy or some combination of all of them. I won't really know until the weekend beforehand.

Besides a shirt, the last piece I really want to add is this hooded wrap, both for practicality -- warmth in the morning and the evening, and keeping the sun off my head at midday without messing up my hair too much -- and for just the drama of a big hood and drapey wrap. I based the hood pattern on the hooded Vuvalini jacket I made for Wasteland Weekend way back in 2016, but took it in a bit both in width and depth (since I'm not trying to catch the wind with this one, and won't be wearing a fluffy scarf with it).

Over the weekend I drafted a pattern and made a mock-up, but the mock-up is really kinda ugly, since I used left over fabric and made a part of it significantly smaller just to save on fabric, so it's one of those mock-ups where you have to squint and imagine what the final product will look like. Not going to bother taking pictures of that. But it did serve the purpose of clarifying some design elements and finalizing fit, so still worthwhile.

With the hood pattern drafted and tested, and measurements for the long wrap bits figured out, I went ahead and cut it out of the herringbone fabric. Here it is all cut out, three pieces for the hood and two pieces for the back:

I'm doing french seams on this project, both to combat the fabric's tendency to fray, and to keep all the inner seams looking pretty when the hood is down, etc. Tonight I sewed up the first set of seams on the center back of the wrap, and all three hood pieces (as modeled by my sewing ham):

Tomorrow I'll press those narrow seams flat, and then sew each of them again a bit further in to completely encase the raw edges (ie a classic french seam). Next step after that will be attaching the hood to the right angle formed by the wrap pieces coming together in the center back. I did this, with shorter and narrower pieces, in my mock-up, and it's a little bit fiddly but not too bad. I didn't french seam the mock-up though, so we'll see if that adds any headaches to this.

Once both stages of the neck seam are done and the hood is attached, the last step will be hemming! And it's a lot of hemming, lol. The shorter edges of the wrap (starting from the top of the center back, where it meets the hood) are each 48" long and 18" wide. I actually haven't measured the outer, longer edge, nor done the math to figure out what it must be given that the center back is cut on a 45 degree bias, but let's just say it's a lot of inches. And then there's the hood opening too, which was cut to have a generous drape. Many many inches of hemming, really probably better measured in yards.

I need to play around with a couple of options, see if I like the look of top stitching or if I want to do the whole thing by hand with invisible stitches, but right now my assumption is that I'll end up doing this by hand. I actually enjoy handsewing hems, so that's not the worst thing in the world, and I've got plenty of time to get this finished before I plan to wear it at the end of February. I do have at least one other sewing project I'd like to tackle for our Star Wars Batuu-bounding day, and I'd like to leave room for other things to come up at the last minute too, so I'm going to keep buzzing through this just as quickly as I can. More pictures tomorrow, in all likelihood.

After I call my mom of course, and wish her a happy birthday. And beg her for photos of that thing I made for her, lol.

[irishgolfadventure]

Carne-tastic

I have been looking forward to this day for awhile. Today was the day I was going to get to play Carne Golf Links located in Bellmullet approximately an hours drive from Mount Falcon. This course was ranked by Tom Coyne as the number one golf course he played during his Ireland journey that led to his writing his bestseller, “A Golf Course Called Ireland”. I will say this, it’s hard to argue with his assessment of Carne.

First of all, today was a beautiful day. Sunny, low sixties and light winds. So a great day for playing 27 holes of golf on a course that the designer said, “God designed it, I just discovered it.” I’m a little lost for words to describe Carne. I thought Enniscrone was a dune-fest, Carne was Enniscrone on steroids.

Besides the need to be a human mountain goat, the course design was creative, challenging but fair and scenic beyond description. I’m going to post more pictures than normal so hopefully you can see for yourself just what I’m trying to describe. It’s still difficult to capture the beauty and elevation changes with an iPhone!

The Carne staff couldn’t have been more helpful and I got a chance to sit down and have a Guinness with Jerry McGuire, the general manager of Carne. We talked about how the course has been doing and all the recognition the course has been getting over the last couple of years. We also chatted about a couple of investment opportunities at Carne that are going to becoming up in the next couple of years and he invited me to become a lifetime international member. My friend Tom had put in a good word about me! Interesting stuff which is going to require me to come back here again!!

I really enjoyed the entire 27 holes which would have been impossible to play without a caddie. You could get lost in those dunes! My caddie was great, her name was Ann. She’s the first woman caddie I have ever had in Ireland or any place else for that matter. One interesting fact about Ann McGarry.....wait for it...she was 78 years old!! Yes, and she walked those hills and valleys or maybe I should say scaled, without a problem. We walked 21,000+ steps and there was not a level hole on the course. You could climb 15 foot mounds in the fairways often and walking straight up or straight down the fairway hills with mounds on the hills was not unusual. Ann was a great caddie and she was quite a golfer in her day. She still plays the course regularly and caddies two to three days or more a week. She was AWESOME.

Scoring was a challenge today. I shot 91 on the first 18 and 42 on the last nine carding three pars and a birdie on the last 9 and only 2 pars on the first 18. I loved every minute of the 27 holes but I was ready to call it a day when my last putt dropped!! Ann gave me a big hug and a peck on the cheek...probably to celebrate the fact that she doesn’t have to caddie for me anymore:-)

Stats Summary

Score 91 & 42/869

Holes Played - 27/171

Yardage played - 6017 & 3127/58279

Lost Balls 4/19

No. of Pars or better - 5 pars 1 birdie/5 birdies 35 pars

Steps - 21,545/133,847

Miles Walked - 10.17/62.74

Green Fees - $135/$1955

Caddie Fees - $80 plus tip/$715 plus tip

Dinner tonight was at The Cot & Cobble. It didn’t disappoint! But enough for now, to be truthful,  I’m worn out and am ready for a shower, an early night to bed and a day off tomorrow! I have such a tough life don’t I! :-) gb

[wanderella-w]

A mostly sunny stretch (day 10-12)

Okay, so I had a whole post typed out about day 10 (twice) but apparently Tumblr lets posts disappear when trying to upload them with a bad internet connection. Anyways, what basically happened is, I walked from just behind Bude to Crackington Haven with one of the steepest ascents of the trip (see video) and nice whether. In Crackington Haven I met Rosa again (quite amazing that she just arrived 10 minutes before me considering it was already around lunchtime) and that night we camped a few km before Boscatle. I was glad to see her again! We immediately tried the duct tape on her dried up shoes to see how it would survive the day. Unfortunately, it didn't.

The next day we came through Boscatle, a town which we loved. If I had to move to Cornwall (no idea why I would have to but anyways) I would chose Boscatle! It was a small town with one bakery, one book shop, one outdoor shop, a small supermarkt and a YHA that was even cuter than the one we had stayed in. The National Trust (the organization maintaining all the hiking paths) had their office there and the surroundings were beautiful. We kept walking and it got warm and sunny. Was this the gulf stream they had all been telling us about? We could also tell that we were now in Cornwall as the landscape had changed. It was less rugged and the cliffs (if you could still call them that) were more like hills softly crumbling into the sea. The water where we walked now was very blue. We had lunch at a touristy spot (some King Arthur related castle) and as it was Saturday it was quite busy. At night we found a beautiful camping spot next to the river, a few km before Port Isaac.

(First picture is the YHA youth hostel in Boscatle, it was still closed)

The next day was a bit rough for me in the beginning, even though the whether was beautiful. My body felt heavy, maybe it was because zo hadn't had a rest day yet, or just because we were actually climbing quite a lot of hills. After a coffee at a coffee truck that appeared just at the right time in the right place (Port Quin), I was re-energized and we actually had a great rest of the day. We were in a chatty mood, talking a lot with each other and with strangers on the path (It was still the weekend, so quite busy). We met quite a few people who were also doing the coast path, mostly one weekend at a time. Some people were asking if we were wild camping and they were all enthousiastic about our plans. We took the ferry from Rock to Padstow, and had an hour of time to relax afterwards (and to do our obligatory cooldown), before we hopped on the bus to our youth hostel in Treyarnon Bay. We booked two night in this hostel as it is also on the path - the plan is to reach it tomorrow walking after going to the outdoor store in Padstow in the morning to look for new hiking shoes. My feet keep getting wet and the shoes take days to dry, so I think this is really the only option. Altogether this means we only need to pack a daypack tomorrow which is a great foresight!

PS: Rosa lost one of her zip-pant legs, so now she looks like a 60-year old tourist who JUST LOVES Cornwall.

PPS: Yes, we can also observe spring spring! While a week ago we still saw frog eggs beneath a layer of snow (see photo), we saw them hatched yesterday! We saw duffadils (Narzissen) all along the way but now we also see some wild flowers here and there, and in the past three days I have seen butterflies and bumblebees.

Update: I wrote this post on the 19th, today is the the 20st of March and we are going to Newquay with the bus instead of Padstow because they have better outdoor stores there. Not sure if there will be any hiking today.

[akash1618]

20 feb. thursday

woke up after a good night's sleep. ah! such pleasant hours. i really felt fresh. no heavy eyelids today.

I stumbled my left foot in the sofa, and it pained sm. all my sleep went out of me with that pain.

felt like wearing orange today. the pain of my foot went away after i wore my socks.

i have reserved the white for fridays. so yes, white tomorrow.

got 333, and then a 181 right after. another, five seconds late and the bus would've missed situation.

opened insta in the bus. and closed right after, after seeing this in the feed. god! i feel sm pain. i shouldnt have liked so many of these pookie posts. they are just all over my feed rn. but they're also very adorable so i can't even stop liking them

i have got no pookie :( sprinkling salt on wounds? yes sir.

last night, since i had spare time, i was watching videos of how to approach girls and date better. umm, ya, i want to talk to her, but god am i disgusted! none of these videos were any good. it's just mind games. do i ever have to try any of these? i'd rather just stop feeling my feelings. i never want to see myself doing these cheap tricks.

reached office at 9:10. a 181 at 8:30 is always something i have not liked, unless I want to reach early and get some work done. i like a 312 at 8:30. but i was early, so it was actually around 8:20 i got 181 at. that's the actual time of the bus.

i actually have been in a good mood today. it's the sleep that ruins me? yeah, ig so.

i had a dream in the morning. in the dream, i was looking at the pictures of water kingdom since it has been years i went there. sunny peeked and asked what i was doing. i told him that i wish to go there but no one's willing to tag along. the senior coworker jumped in and showed pictures and videos of how amazing the place is. actually, to reach there, we had take a train through mountains, foggy, cold mountains.

(

reminds me, yesterday i had a dream where i was traveling to somewhere, i was a lawyer. the guy, someone random, was asking me questions and i was replying - vakil hoon, saare sawalon ke jawab hai - lol, so cheesy. i had to go somewhere else, but that guy asked me to get down at gulmarg, the current station. idk why, but i got down. it was only when i reached out to my mobile to take a picture of the station that i realised that i had to go further. i was puzzled. why did i get down? everything there seemed very old, 80s, yet i had a smartphone in my hand. to define, it was like what i saw in jab we met when aditya goes to find jeet when she's lost. like pahadi!

)

continuing today's dream. sunny was ready on a whim, and also the senior coworker. another coworker just said a no. and we didn't go. the video, the senior coworker was showing felt so real. was as if i was living the video. and years, i understand the dream, i have been wanting to go there for more than three years now, but no one wants to tag along. i have only visited there once, 2016.

---

everyone arrived. i was working - still have pending work from yesterday. sunny asked if i would like to have breakfast from the canteen. i tagged along. had misal pav. it wasn't good. i have had so many misal pav until now, this just wasn't good.

i came down from canteen, sunny had left earlier because boss called him.

i told about my dream in the morning about water kingdom. sunny actually got ready on a whim, but the other two laughed it off.

lunch time. when i was leaving, i proly saw her on the couch? idk if it was her, i realised it late that it was proly her - after reaching the main door of the first floor. so i went back to check, idiot. but of what use? i hesitated to look up, and well just did random things on my laptop and returned back to go to canteen. whole walking, i again tried to figure if it was her on the couch. again i couldn't figure, as people were standing in my sight. but i am sure it was her.

today's topic was cricket. boss said that rohit sharma's and virat kohli's innings are always add-ons, and don't usually matter in icc events. umm, what sir? he calls himself a big cricket fan. you never say wrong things about vk in front of me. i admire that guy. i started loving cricket because of his cover drives and flicks. i felt bad when he said that. i love vk's game sm. also the topic was about sambhaji maharaj.

also, it's going to be ind v ban match today. it's not likely for rohit to score two centuries in this season if he doesn't perform well against ban. so if he fails today, i almost have half the bet down my pocket.

oh! i saw her arrive! she came with her friend. umm, i tried to look at her without being obvious on the table. feels nice to see her eat on time. she wore a striped white tank top.

once done, and while leaving, i saw her for one final time. i had booked room 2.2 - i don't remember the name of that cabin. so i left right after keeping my lunch box.

i went up and placed my laptop in the cabin. there was already someone's water bottle inside. idk whose. oh, my bottle was empty, so i went to get it filled at the dispenser in the canteen. oh, i went to see her actually ;) but she wasn't there. proly had left. i had also forgotten my laptop charger so i went down to get it. coworkers were ordering something from zepto, but i couldn't care any less

i had booked the room to get some work done but well, i barely managed to complete anything. i only had the room till 3, so had to leave. sm of my materials.

i have this habit of holding my bottle between my body and right arm. and now, the bottle wasn't even empty, so it was slipping a lot. it was about to slip and fall down twice while i was on the stairs. the bottle can fall down, but not my laptop or charger.

when i reached the door of the first floor, i saw her through. madam, so pretty.

well, i often stumble so i tried my best to not do so while walking and carefully moved away from her. i placed my laptop on my desk and right away went to the washroom. when I returned back, she wasn't there anymore. must be her work.

sometime later, coworkers were going out to drink soda. i tagged along as i was curious. it was lemon, jaljira, pudina, soda. some of it spilled on my hands and shirt.

we came back.

i saw her walking, through the glass. and then suddenly after some time, she came out of the back door. i haven't seen her use that door very much, except last tuesday, after which she disappeared for about a week. will it happen again? i hope no. she wore her earphones and was on a call. "great question" all this time, i kept looking at her. i mean, how could i not?

madam, you know right that you shouldn't be doing this unless you like me? but why would she like me?

it kinda seemed out of the blue to me. it must be a random thing to her. and i must be overthinking? she must've been in her flow.

madam, i hope i am overthinking. you'd hate me if you knew me.

i asked sunny if he has ever seen her come to this side, and he replied that she does that often. sometimes comes to water dispenser to fill her bottle, and sometimes just uses that door randomly. and sometimes to see HIM! umm, ok. he often jokes that she likes him. idk, must be. must not be.

yea, i must be overthinking again.

and when rohit sharma started batting, and looked confident with the bat, i kinda got nervous. and then he lost his wicket. ah! i started laughing, like a kid. i mean no harm to him ofc, I am ok with him scoring 80s and 90s but not a 100 this season. it's ind v pak next.

evening. i checked my stress level again. it's super high! everyone has near 10% mark but i easily hit 90-95. how? the sir who sits to my extreme right also measured his, and its near 20 or so.

what wrong am i doing? i have been cheerful. the senior coworker suggested me to get a jade plant - it's a stressbuster. but he wasn't sure if it's jade. i searched for stress relieving plants. lavendar was on the list, but it wasn't available on instamart. so i ordered a peace lily. kept my bag on the other side. i am supposed to remove the miss next week. i hope the plant lives, and I am able to take good care of it.

the plant arrived at around 8:50. i set it up and left for home at 9:10. no bus till 10. i would've caught an auto if i knew earlier. got a 312, and then a 410. home at 11.

[46yearsonwheels]

Oct. 22,2024, Tuesday

61° to 88° mostly sunny.

Eden to Telegraph, Texas☀️

We started our 70 mile ride today in Eden, which has its own Garden of Eden. 😃Maria offered me an apple from the Garden of Eden, but I declined, unlike Adam.

Our first pass through town was Menard and as we often do, we charged the battery in the lical library, while we had an early lunch. Across the street from the library was a beautiful butterfly garden, which today was also visited by hummingbirds. We assume the hummingbirds are on their migration to Central and South America, but certainly they were enjoying the flowers in this lovely garden in Menard.

Sandy is the librarian and was very welcoming to us both. I noted the sign with the dairy cows and its advice to “live like someone left the gate open!” it reminded me that we should all live with joy, sometimes unexpected! ☺️ With regards to Sandy, the librarian, we found that she had run several marathons, but now was training for her first ”ultramarathon.” She will be running that 100 mile race on Saturday. 😵👍🏼That is impressive at any age, but she is 63 and doing her first one. She has been training over a year.⭐️

We are now in Texas Hill country, a region we have been in before when we went across country east to west in 2015. When we reached Junction this afternoon, we left Highway 83 and began our southwest trek to Del Rio, our endpoint to this border to border ride.😎‼️ We have been on Highway 83 since North Dakota and could have taken Highway 83 all the way to the Mexican border at Laredo. Instead we opted to head south west towards Del Rio, as it is a smaller city and a little easier to navigate on a bicycle than Laredo. 🚴🚴

Our final stop today was in the ghost town of Telegraph. At one time, it had a population of 66, but the population now is three. The old post office is still standing and someone decorated it for Halloween, as you can see from the picture. The town got its name because trees were cut there to support communication lines to army forts east of town. It has been fascinating to read all of the historical markers along the roadways. We included a picture saying that there were rockslides. This was indeed, the case, as during a portion of the ride, the shoulder was littered with rocks of all sizes! Thankfully, nothing came tumbling down as I was riding along! I also stopped and took a picture of the road sign showing that Del Rio is only 122 miles away! That is hard to believe! Leslie, there’s a short video of me while I was awaiting that to catch up to me. Seeing a river with clear water was definitely picture worthy to me! 🤩Tomorrow morning we will start our ride in Telegraph and pedal 31 miles to Rocksprings, which is 76 miles from Del Rio. If all goes as planned, we should arrive in Del Rio Thursday afternoon. 😎 We are spending tonight and tomorrow night at the Historic Hotel in Rocksprings. We will take some pictures tomorrow to share with you. 

And one last thing, yes, we did have headwinds again today, 9-14 mph from the south.🙃

[kittyfairyblog]

March 27 2024

Meow well today has been a much better day than yesterday. I didn't sleep well last night and I did not sleep as long as I thought I would. I had a doctor appointment today at 12:30 pm and I finally got to have my medicine refilled. Hopefully I can pick up my refills tomorrow or Friday from the pharmacy. Nya I added new groups to my Facebook page and I was able to talk to a friend bestie today. Meow I had to reassure my bestie I was still her bestie. Anyway I hope to sleep well tonight. My plans to fix my PS3 I purchased from eBay well I probably won't fix or do it at a later date. I tried to fix it once the way a YouTube video showed outside one sunny day but it was still doing the same thing that I bought with the problem I mean. I mean I purchased a heat gun and new thermal paste for it but it didn't work. Well I might put it back together screws in the right place and just sit on it. I have a new Switch that I have been enjoying playing on since Monday and I really don't think I want to get the PS3 working again to play PS3 games. Meow I took my shower already before 5 pm and now waiting on my mom to return home from babysitting my niece and nephews over at my sister's house while my sister worked. At least my mom was able to take me to my appointment today. Nya well I am sitting with my dog Kylie on the recliner in the living room while waiting. Good grief I had to wait almost 30 minutes before I finally got around to seeing my doctor. The place I saw my doctor at doesn't have them locally so I had a televised one. Meow when my mom comes home I am making sure to go to my room. I like it in my room since I have been in the living room after I returned home from the doctors appointment. Meow well my dad is not working today because he is not feeling well. Meow that's about wraps up this entry for now. I might post pictures later after this entry. Anyways later.

[mojavepumpkin]

2/4/24

I wanted to write a blog post because I haven't in a while but Tumblr tried it's darndest to impede me. Why is signing in on web so hard???? BUT! I have news! I have deleted TikTok! I don't want to be addicted to my phone. It added NOTHING to my life, just took away time. If there's anything I don't want to lose; its time. AAAAAnyway, I would like to make blog posting a more regular thing -- quite enjoyable. Today has been mostly a complete wash; rained all day, did nothing. Do you ever get that feeling like you just can't get comfortable? That's me right now. I don't feel like... GOOD. At all. I'm like weirdly itchy, my neck hurts, the lighting in my room is bad, my room is messy, I feel bloated and hungry at the same time.

Okay, took a break to eat and I actually feel a little better. School is not cancelled tomorrow which is a massive bummer. I think I'm going to clean my room, then I have to do homework :(((((((, I need to figure out some public speaking stuff so I'll do that too. I need to figure out my next couple of walks so I can plan them. Also; would not mind getting back to reading, I only work tuesday this week so I should be able to get a lot of stuff done -- SPEAKING OF WORKING, my friday and saturday shifts went decently well, makes me want to rethink quitting. I was worried about saturday because it's lunch which is always stressful, and it was stressful, but I did it. And I'm proud. I hope whenever we go to the beach next it's sunny and warm, because this weekend really sucked it big time.

I feel better about myself now that I've deleted tiktok, I think the next step is to delete all social media BS and just use my phone for the necessary stuff. r/dumphones has some good ideas. I like the idea of using my laptop for social media stuff because then using it feels more intentional, like I'm actively making the decision to use it instead of just using it because it's there. I've gotten really into r/EDC (every day carry) stuff too, and they kind of facilitate eachother, using your phone for less stuff necessitates carrying more stuff with you. I think I need a Kindle or some ereader thing, I want to get back into reading daily. I like the greyscale phone set-ups, I think it would help a lot with the whole "going-to-my-phone-when-I'm-bored" thing. I think the greyscale dumbiphone is the most elegant solution to the phone addiction problem because I can still use it for work stuff, calls, emails, taking pictures, listening to music, podcasts, maps, carplay, BUT its less attractive bc greyscale. - tangent over.

I have a weird neckache and I think it's because of how I sit when I write. Really, I lay down -- I should write at my desk, I suppose.

[countessofravenclaw]

The 2023 writing Advent calendar: Day 24

24. Elf

This is direct continuation of the Day 11 of last year calendar

“Okay, what’s next?” Gastón flicked his hand and a picture appeared on the cover of the book Nina had put before him. 

“I… Think that was the last one for the day,” Nina read o fteh scrol that had been sent over from the Dreams and Wishes in the morning. 

“Really?” Gastón questioned, “Were done?”

“I think so,” Nina nodded, “The list was quite short today.”

“And to think we have been slammed most of the year and now were getting off early,” Gastón remarked as she grabbed and pile of the books they had created today and put them in the box that would take them to the Dreams and Wishes to be packaged and ready for the Christmas Eve. 

The elves working in the workshops only got the wishlists, but the gifts more often than not were not specifieds. Only few pof the department got child specifications with the lists. Literature department was one of those, since they were creating stories. It really depended on the specific wish. 

“We’ll probably get another long list tomorrow,” Nina remarked, “When Dreams and Wishes says you’re ahead schedule, it usually mean that they have forgotten like ten scrolls into some back cabinet.”

“And you would not think it was not our problem, you’d be so wrong,” GAstón shook his head laughing, “But hey, lets enjoy today.” He raised his hand to her. 

“Really?” Nina raised an eyebrow at him, “A highfive? That’s how were doing this now?”

“Well, you were worried about someone coming in,” Gastón smirked as he hopped onto the table Nina was sitting besides. He took one of her braid into his hand and started playing with it. “There are other ways too we can celebrate… It’s just a shame you have a roommate again…” He brough his hand to her nape and started leaning forward. 

“So, how are you doing here?” One of the Artworkshop elders walked in and Gastón jumped off the table as quickly as he could have.

“Were actually done for the day,” Nina responded. 

“Really?” The elder looked at them. 

“We have been efficient,” Gastón nodded, “Even when it has just been the two of us.”

The past year had been interesting. Most of Maisteris that they had worked with previously had been old—that’s why they had all retired—and quite set on their ways. When Gastón and Nina had been left on their own to do thing the way they though would be the best, they had found themselves to be really efficient. They did work together well after all…

“That has been unfortunate,” The elder nodded, “But I gotta say, you have managed miraculously well for two apprentices.” 

“We have made it work.”

That didn’t still mean that the work load they had managed to do was meant to be carried by just two apprentice elves alone. 

***

“Uuuuu, you have no idea how many of these I had to transport while I worked at the post,” Matteo docked the hockey stick Luna was twirling around. He had spent the whole day explaining to her how the working stations worked and everything else. Why couldn’t some Maisteri do this? Why was he settled with thai healt hazard, no matter how sunny she was. “I kept dropping them.” 

“Yeah, but here we make them,” Matteo sighed, and took the stick from Luna, “We need to get this done so we can leave. Hand me the wrapping tape.” 

“UUu, yeah, we shouldn’t spent our whole night here,” Luna grabbed a paintbrush and started painting the stick. Matteo had to admit that she had a good eye for color and creativity. SOme child would definitely enjoy the rainbow pattern she was painting on the stick. “My roommate Nina is showing me around today, as when I was at the post, I didn’t really see this area at all. DO you know her?”

“Yeah, she’s my roommate’s rak—” Matteo stopped him self. The fact that Gastón and Nina were rakastavaiset wasn’t common knowledge. Rakastavaiset was the term that elves used for unbonded pairs, basically the ones who were dating. Matteo had been that with Ambar, she had been his rakas. “She works with my roommate at the literature department.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” Luna flung the last stick in it box and off they went to the Dreams and Wishes. She had some movement in her. 

“Okay, well, see you tomorrow,” Matteo nodded to Luna and walked out of the door. It was snowing today. 

“Matteo! Hey!” He came across Gastón and Nina quite quickly. They were walking in a snow holding hands. 

“You won’t believe the day I have just had,” Matteo shook his head. “How’s the books?”

“We do what we can,” Nina responded, “I still can’t believe they just have left us alone.” 

“You don’y think anyone from the academy will join you next year?”

“We can never know,” GAstón shrugged, “Not just anyone can work in literature. It requires as specific gifts. I mean, anyone can make hockey sticks…”

“Hey! My sticks are works of art,” Matteo rolled his eyes. 

“Whatever you say.” Gastón rolled his eyes back. 

“Incoming…!” Suddenly a torpedo of some sort, or a fallen star, crashed in a snow pile next to them.

“Luna?” Nina exclaimed as a head of brown frizzyr hair popped out of the snow.   

“Sorry about that,” Luna puled her hat back on, “I miscalculated the jump.”

“How were you able to jump that far?”

“That’s my gift,” Luna explained, “I can do crazy acrobatics, but I can’t always control them… oh hi Matteo.”

“We worked together today,” Matteo explained.

“That’s right?” Nina asked before looking at Gastón, “This is Luna, my new roommate. Thihs is Gastón, we… work together, and Matteo you knew apparently.”

“Cool, nice to meet you.” Luna did a spin in the air. 

“Well, anyways I promised to show you around so We’ll see you guys later.”

“So, you work with thet guy?” Luna asked teasingly after she and Nina had left the.

“Yes,” Nina nodded and tried tpo sound nochalant. “It’s only us there now.”

She had taken the liking to Gastón immediately as she had gotten out of the academy last year., but she didn’t think he would have ever liked her back, until he did. She had to believe that North Star had intended this.

There were lots of stories of the North Star and the romantic bondage. Some of the elders said that everyone had their intended rakas, who they were meabt to be bonded with, but it was never quaranteed that the rakastavaiset would ever meet. 

North Star could only bind together the intended. There were stories of failed attempt that more often than not led to break up—nothing said more about not being meant to be together than the strongest force in the universe saying so. That was one of the reasons why many rakastavaiset often kept thng secret until they got bonded. 

Many of he younger left generation believe that not everyone had an intended at all. Some did, some didn’t. They were old elves who had never gotten bonded. It was more to personal preference nowadays.

Only hiccup was that you would’t able to become Santa if you were unbonded. The North pole needed Mrs. Claus. Once the boss died, the North Star picked the new one. No knew how that worked and most didn’t even want to know. Most elves had no ambition to become the next Santa Claus, but no one knew what was to come. 

“Imagine if he was your intended,” Luna continued with a reading tone, “right before you.”

“It would be crazy,” Nina smiled smally. “How about you? Did you have fun with Matteo?”

“Well, yeah,” Luna nodded, “I mean it was my first day and I have never worked at the workshops before so it was but crazy.” 

“Matteo is Gastón’s roommate,” Nina explained, “He’s harmless, but a bit full of himself.” 

Well, nothing really happened in this, because I need to make this into a full length story someday. Maybe next year's Christmas... Hopefully you enjoyed the lore and a side note: Matteo is much nicer here than in the canon because there is no assholery in the North Pole, because of magic

[projecthipster]

Avocado on Toast

(Yes, with an “on.” That’s what the list says.)

Oh, avocado toast. Simplest of concepts, and yet, ambrosia. The fruit of a mesoamerican conifer, rich with oil and nutrients, softens to a lovely-textured paste or a soft smooth fruit that falls easily into slices, it’s up to you how long you want to let it age on the counter, like a cask ale or a cheddar cheese. Put that on bread. End of concept description.

Simplest of concepts, and yet, made so much. Most of the time that I eat avocado toast, I make it at home with a simple, perfect recipe. Here it is:

Using a fork, mash half an avocado in a small bowl. Mix in a splash of olive oil, a couple of sprinkles of salt, fresh-ground pepper, and red chili flakes to taste. Toast two slices of good quality bread, dry, until they are golden brown and slightly crispy on the edges. Divide the avocado mash to spread thickly across the two slices. Eat while still warm.

Of course, most of the avocadi toasti that gave the dish its Hipster association aren’t so simple. Let’s inspect the brunch menu of a hip café at Van Horne and Hamilton, in the hip not-quite-downtown district. The area and café are both named after a defunct streetcar line, which is rather Hipster. This spot’s menu reveals an avocado toast featuring, for eighteen dollars, sunny-side-up eggs, arugula, gem tomatoes, and country hash.

Sounds good! I’d order it, and in fact I may even get it for brunch tomorrow when I head that way before work. Tips have been good lately. But at that price you can see why this humble conifer-fruit-on-bread has been cast as a sort of account-draining millennial meth that dooms its orderers of my generation to a lifetime of loft rentals. Putting aside the what’s wrong with lofts? question and the general wrongness of the idea, it’s still easy to be baffled at the price and excess of these luxurious toastses.

Another place, down on the Atlantic Avenue strip, features, alongside breakfast pierogies and taco pancakes (I think I once saw Homer Simpson invent such a thing,) a twenty dollar avo toast with a poached egg and bacon or salmon. A far cry from a few dollars for a grocery store avocado and loaf of bread for my recipe, that provides four servings with half the loaf left over.

But the luxury is the point, isn’t it? When the feeling of avocado meat melting in ones mouth feels like a luxury in itself, it’s a dish that lends itself naturally to a special-occasion treat. While working at the ski hill I had the expensive lodge avo toast a couple of times to celebrate sending a new challenging run. Who’s to say we don’t deserve it? Socialist movements of the twentieth century called for “bread and roses;” the bread of secure staples, and the roses of luxury, recognition that an improved world ought not only secure material stability, but beyond that, luxury and comfort. As hipsters rallied against the greed and destructiveness of the corporate mainstream, let us therefore take up the cry of the old century for the new. Panem et avocadi!

Post-scriptum

I wrote all the preceding at home in the evening while listening to a Bob Dylan record*, no avocados in the building. Since it had been months since I actually ordered avo toast, I did so this morning. I didn’t go to the twenty dollar place, nor the seventeen. I went to a hip-aspiring café near Stephen and Broadway, busy with office workers getting takeout. The avo toast there was a much kinder seven dollars, served with cherry tomatoes and arugula, with white bean hummus mixed into mash. I had it with a local roast cappucino, of course. And you know what? It was damn good. Yes, easily seven dollars good. Shitty picture of it in its compostable tray at the top of the post, which I tried to snap without looking like I was, because I didn’t want at all to be that guy.

I give this hipster food five studio loft rentals out of five.

Project Hipster is a futile and disorganized attempt to dive into the world of things that the internet has at some point claimed "are hipster," mostly through ListChallenges search results.

This review comes from the fourth list, Hipster Starter Pack.

Stay deck.

*Bob Dylan at Budokan, which apparently is a controversial album? I guess I can see why since it features him singing the lyrics to some of my favourite of his songs as set to unrecognizable new tunes. But eh, it’s interesting and sounds like a cool pop rock record aside from the Dylanness. Anyway, this was supposed to be about toast.

[dsandrvk]

Wednesday, July 26 - to Hastings

We had a mostly uneventful trip to England, considering some of our previous trips. Our flights were mostly on time, our luggage made it, and we actually had a few pleasant surprises. The first was landing in Denver and deplaning into a nice modern terminal, instead of the old lower level "B" gates that United used for the smaller planes. It was bright, with varied seating ranging from lounge style chairs to stools at work counters to the more traditional airport seating, but with lots of outlets. Much nicer than the rest of the Denver airport. Too bad the new SLC airport has copied the old style Denver, and basically designed a new, 30-year old airport. While we waited during our long layover, we were treated to a surprise thunderstorm with lots of lightning and a brief, but very heavy downpour. Later, on our flight, we passed a similar storm to the southeast over western South Dakota that had the most continuous cloud lightning I've ever seen.

The second good surprise was the revised immigration procedure at Heathrow. There are now automated kiosks for most travelers and it was simply a matter of scanning my passport, smiling at the camera, and then I was on my way. Less than 5 minutes, where it used to often take an hour to get through the line. We even beat our luggage, which has never happened here before.

From there it was an easy underground ride to Hammersmith where we changed lines, and emerged in Victoria Station. Since we had a while before our train to Hastings, we walked around and found a Post Office, where we were able to change Russ' old twenty pound notes to USD. We had learned last December in the Falklands that the old bills weren't being accepted anymore, and needed to be exchanged at a Bank of England or a Post Office, and the latter was more convenient.

The neighborhood around Victoria Station has lots of theatres and we were able to watch folks going to Wednesday matinees of Wicked and Hamilton. The first two pictures are from this area. The station itself was very busy, and it was easy to get our prepaid tickets out of a machine for our trip down to Hastings. Many train tickets are considerably cheaper when purchased at least a day ahead.

We were also surprised how quickly the weather changed. It was sunny in London, but by the time our train pulled out it was grey, and it started raining shortly afterwards, although it hadn't yet reached Hastings when we arrived. Hastings is a mixture of working town and touristy beach resort, and has some very old parts. After checking in, we walked through the tunnel under the highway to the waterfront and the old town, including George Street, which had lots of restaurants and pubs and not much else, but a lot of atmosphere. By now it had started raining steadily, which is the forecast for most of our time here in England. Good thing we brought full rain gear, including ponchos, since some of the winds make umbrellas pretty useless.

Since we had a late flight from Denver and hadn't landed in Heathrow until after noon, it was now dinner time, and we finally settled on first having a couple of cask ales in a busy little local bar called the Jolly Fisherman, followed by some good fish and chips at the "Old Town Fryer". By now it was dark and we headed back to our lodging for much needed sleep. Our plan for tomorrow is to take the bus up to the town of Battle, where William the Conqueror defeated Harold and the English in 1066. It's amazing that a monumental defeat is so revered, but then, that's what really created the England we now know.