#i'm standing here but you don't see me (high school verse)

[lcnnypooh]

A Tag Dump // Verse Tags.

maybe we can find a place to feel good and we can treat people with kindness (main verse)

i'm standing here but you don't see me (high school verse)

you're like a sunshine only giving good vibes anytime that you roll in (yugioh gx verse)

from underneath the trees we watch the sky confusing stars for satellites (yugioh 5ds verse)

everybody’s trying to be famous and i’m just trying to find a place to hide (swac verse)

is this what it feels like to really cry (noragami verse)

kiss kiss fall in love (ohshc verse)

put down the weapons you fight with and kill em with kindness (kingdom hearts verse)

on this perfect day nothing’s standing in my way(pokemon verse)

they call me quiet girl but i’m a riot (glee verse)

in ancient egypt when the pyramids were still young (ancient egypt verse) 

you wouldn’t find a riceball in a fruits basket (fruits basket verse)

[yesimtrashforit]

Film quotes I love/that changed my life

Dead Poets Society (1989)

• John Keating: "We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?"

• Neil Perry: "I was good. I was really good."

• John Keating: "There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution and a wise man understands which is called for."

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

• CEO Waymond: "When I choose to see the good side of things, I'm not being naive. It is strategic and necessary. It's how I've learned to survive through everything."

• Alpha Waymond: "Every rejection, every disappointment has led you to this moment. Don't let anything distract you from it."

• Waymond: "The only thing I do know... is that we have to be kind. Please, be kind. Especially when we don't know what's going on."

• Jobu Tupaki: "I wasn't looking for you so I could kill you. I was just looking for someone who could see what I see, feel what I feel."

Little Women (2019)

• Jo March: "Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they've got ambition, and they've got talent, as well as just beauty. I'm so sick of people saying that love is just all a woman is fit for. I'm so sick of it.

But I'm so lonely..."

• Amy March: "Well, I believe we have some power over who we love, it isn't something that just happens to a person."

Theodore 'Laurie' Laurence: "I think the poets might disagree."

Amy March: "Well, I'm not a poet, I'm just a woman. And as a woman I have no way to make money, not enough to earn a living and support my family. Even if I had my own money, which I don't, it would belong to my husband the minute we were married. If we had children they would belong to him, not me. They would be his property. So don't sit there and tell me that marriage isn't an economic proposition, because it is. It may not be for you but it most certainly is for me."

• Jo March: "If I were a girl in a book, this would all be so easy."

• Meg March: "Just because my dreams are different than yours doesn't mean they're unimportant."

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

• Charlie: "I don't know if I will have the time to write any more letters because I might be too busy trying to participate. So if this does end up being the last letter, I just want you to know that I was in a bad place before I started high school, and you helped me. Even if you didn't know what I was talking about or know someone who's gone through it, you made me not feel alone. Because I know there are people who say all these things don't happen. And there are people who forget what it's like to be 16 when they turn 17. I know these will all be stories someday. And our pictures will become old photographs. We'll all become somebody's mom or dad. But right now these moments are not stories. This is happening. I am here and I am looking at her. And she is so beautiful. I can see it. This one moment when you know you're not a sad story. You are alive, and you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you're listening to that song and that drive with the people you love most in this world. And in this moment I swear, we are infinite."

• Patrick: "You see things and you understand. You're a wallflower."

Donnie Darko (2001)

• Dr. Lilian Thurman: "Do you feel alone right now?"

Donnie: "Oh, I don't know. I mean, I'd like to believe I'm not, but I just... I've just never seen any proof, so I... I just don't debate it anymore, you know? It's like I could spend my whole life debating it over and over again, weighing the pros and cons. And in the end, I still wouldn't have any proof. So I just... I just don't debate it anymore. It's absurd."

Dr. Lilian Thurman: "The search for God is absurd?"

Donnie: "It is if everyone dies alone."

Dr. Lilian Thurman: "Does that scare you?"

Donnie: "I don't want to be alone."

• Donnie: "How's it feel to have a wacko for a son?"

Rose Darko: "It feels wonderful."

• Donnie to Cherita Chen: "One day everything will be better for you."

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

• Kat: "You don't always have to be who they want you to be, you know?"

• Kat: "Why should I live up to other people's expectations instead of my own?"

The Holdovers (2023)

• Paul Hunham: "There's nothing new in human experience, Mr. Tully. Each generation thinks it invented debauchery or suffering or rebellion, but man's every impulse and appetite from the disgusting to the sublime is on display right here all around you. So, before you dismiss something as boring or irrelevant, remember, if you truly want to understand the present or yourself, you must begin in the past. You see, history is not simply the study of the past. It is an explanation of the present."

• Angus Tully: "He used to be fine. He was better than fine. He was great. He was my dad. Then about four years ago, he... started acting strange. Erratic, forgetful, saying all this weird shit. My mom took him to a bunch of doctors, and they put him on medication. But that just made it worse. He got more confused. Then he got angry. And then he got... physical. That was it. That was the last straw. They put him away. And she divorced him... without him even realizing it. That's why she wants a whole new life. And it's easy to just stash me away in boarding school. Like half of us are just stashed away there. And I get it. She never has to look at me. Because maybe when she looks at me, she... she sees him. Maybe she's right. I can't keep it together. I lie. I steal. I piss people off. I don't have any friends, real friends. I'll probably get kicked out of Barton too. And when I do, it'll be my own fault. Get sent to Fork Union and maybe to youknowwhere. And nobody will care. The funny thing is... I wanted to see him so bad this whole time. But I also didn't, you know? Because I'm afraid that's what's going to happen to me one day."

Paul Hunham: "You're not your father."

Angus Tully: "How do you know?"

Paul Hunham: "Because no one is his own father. I'm not my dad. No matter how hard he tried to beat that idea into me. I find the world a bitter and complicated place, and it seems to feel the same way about me. I think you and I have this in common. But don't get me wrong, you have your challenges. You're erratic and belligerant and gigantic pain in the balls, but you're not your father. You're your own man. Man, no. You're just a kid. You're just beginning. And you're smart. You've got time to turn things around. Yes, I know that Greeks had the idea that the steps you take to avoid your fate are the very steps that lead you to it, but that's just a literary conceit. In real life, your history does not have to dictate your destiny."

• Paul Hunham: "You know, Mr. Kountze, for most people, life is like a henhouse ladder: shitty and short. You were born lucky. Maybe someday, you entitled little degenerates will appreciate that. If you don't, I feel sorry for you and we will have failed to do our jobs."

Barbie (2023)

• Ruth: "Humans have only one ending. Ideas live for ever."

• Gloria: "It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong. You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman, but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood. But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault. I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing a woman, then I don't even know."

• Ruth: "We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back and see how far they've come."

• Barbie: "I want to be a part of the people that make meaning. Not the thing that's made. I want to do the imagining. I don't wanna be the idea."

• Ken: "We were only fighting because we didn't know who we were."

• Sasha: "You have to try. Even if... Even if you can't make it perfect, you can make it better."

Her (2013)

• Theodore: "Sometimes I think I have felt everything I'm ever gonna feel. And from here on out, I'm not gonna feel anything new. Just lesser versions of what I've already felt."

• Samantha: "The past is just a story we tell ourselves."

• Amy: "We are only here briefly, and in this moment I want to allow myself joy. So fuck it."

I Saw The TV Glow (2024)

• Maddy: "Time wasn't right. It was moving too fast. And then I was 19. And then I was 20. I felt like one of those dolls asleep in the supermarket. Stuffed. And then I was 21. Like chapters skipped over on a DVD. I told myself, This isn't normal. This isn't normal. This isn't how life is supposed to feel. If you don't think about it, it can't hurt you. I found our hearts and they were still beating. There is still time."

[lcnnypooh]

Lenny smiles softly at his question. "Um --- knitting and sewing --- I'm self taught, but I did, did get some tips from my grandmas. Flower crowns I learned on my own too. Uh, my grandma, she taught me how to play the piano. And my, my other grandparents --- they own a bakery. I learned a lot from them." she explained. Neither her mother, nor her father would have been able to afford to hire special tutors to teach her the things she learned. Her parents weren't poor by any means, but they weren't made of money either. Both were single and one worked on a cops salary, the other an FBI agent's salary.

She lefts up her arm and picks up her chopsticks with her right hand. The chopsticks are used to pick up some vegetables off of her tray. The green vegetable is popped into her mouth. Chewing thoroughly, she keeps her mouth closed. When she finishes eating, the girl swallows.

Blue eyes glance down at her deck box. "If you want um, you can look at my cards?" she suggests. The chopsticks are placed back onto her tray. She picks up the pink, kitty sticker covered, deck box, holding it out to him. Lenny brought the Kuriboh deck with her today. It may not be the most impressive, but Kuriboh was one of her favorite duel monsters. Aside from fluffal cat, of course. And she knows duel monsters is the reason he came over here in the first place. She figured she might as well ask him if he wanted to look at her cards.

Practical skills. Except for flower crowns. Well, she might be teetering on boring but she doesn’t seem like a completely useless person, so at least there’s that. He watches her for a long moment in silence, deciding what to do. He could just get up and leave or just finish his lunch in silence, but… Even if she’s not a worthwhile opponent, she might know more people who play. It’s a good idea to integrate himself into the student population so he can find more interesting duelists.

“Did you teach yourself those things or did your parents hire tutors?”

[sundropstories]

I Remember You

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Summary: Y/n remembers everything.

a/n: I hope you guys like this I had been working on it for a while but I really have no idea how I wanted to end it. But I hope the choice I made leaves it open for interpretation. Thank you for reading <3

˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧˖⁺‧₊ ˖⁺‧₊

I take my seat as I wait for the barista to let me know my coffee is ready. I come to this cafe every Friday morning.

I bring a book, and sit at the same table and wait...

There's this boy, his name is Peter Parker. About a month ago the news said that he was The Spider-Man. It was insane and everyone lost it. They were saying  he was a murderer because supposedly he killed Mysterio.

I don't believe it though. I know Peter Parker, okay maybe not like.. super personally. But, we've been going to school together since we were in elementary school. I can believe he is Spider-Man though I've had a few interactions with him and the personality I see. But, he's no killer.

Anyways...a weeks after his identity was released there were like these weird villains showing up. Then this huge thing was happening in the sky. It looked like it was almost...breaking in a way. I don't know maybe I just sound crazy..

Then, later that night, everyone just stopped talking about him. Literally..it was almost as if...he never existed. So I thought I was going insane, thinking I made it all up.

Till one day when I came here, Peter Pan Donut Shop.

I actually saw him come in, and he ordered a coffee. MJ and Ned acted like they had no idea who he was. When I am pretty sure him and Ned have been friends since..well forever. I'm also pretty sure him and MJ were like dating not that long ago, but I just assumed they had a bad breakup.

Until he LITERALLY introduced himself to her!! What?! I know! I was thinking the same thing. That's why I spent the last few weeks coming here.

Today I plan to make a move. Not like romantically. I just need to talk to him. I need to know I'm not crazy.

Okay yeah I definitely sound crazy.

—

"Y/n, Hot Chai, 2 shots espresso with whip!" I hear MJ yell my order. "Hey, Thank you." I say to her as I grab my drink and slip some cash into her tip jar.

"Of course!" We chat for a bit till I see him entre the cafe. MJ is actually really nice, if I'm being honest in high school I thought she was kinda intimidating.

—

I decided to gather my things and move to the bench outside. It's a nice day for this time of year so I don't wanna spend all day in there.

Almost immediately i hear the door ding as it swings open. I stand to see the brunette pass me. Immediately I try to flag him down.

"Excuse me, Peter." I say gathering my things to catch up with him. He almost immediately stops in his tracks at the sound of his name.

He turns and comes towards me so fast I barely have even left the bench.

"You know.." He whispered.

"That you're spi-" I'm cut off by him slapping his hand over my mouth. "No no no shhh.." using the other hand to hold a finger in front of his mouth.

" okay, okay.." I slowly move his hand off of me. "But, please can we talk."

He quirks an eyebrow giving me a questioning look. "Who are you?" He says it's less of a question though and more like he's demanding to know. Hurts my feelings a little though we did go to school together since kindergarten. "Y/n we've gone to school together...like our whole lives.."

He looks me over. "Okay, but not here."

—

We arrived at what I believe is his apartment. It's small but nice. Comfortable for someone living alone, and he barely has any furniture so I can tell he just moved in.

"Why don't you exist?" I ask. "Wow, straight to the point." He says moving through the kitchen. "Water?"

"No thank you, could you answer my question please." I smile. He lets out a breath, running his hand over his face.

"I did it to save everyone. The multi-verse was... Breaking? The only way I could fix it was to make everyone forget Peter Parker."

"Why do I remember? It was like one second. Your identity being exposed was all anyone could talk about, but then everything stopped. Within seconds." I take a breath. "Also what the hell is the multiverse?!"

" I don't know. And basically what it sounds like."

"I felt like I was crazy." I let out a small laugh. "You're not." He laughs with me.

—

We ended up spending the rest the night just hanging out. We played boardgames, got pizza, and ended the night watching movies.

"You know it's nice to finally talk to someone who...knows who I am." He turns to face me.

I turned a look at him, making eye contact and then looking away. "Is it true?"

"hmm"

"Did you.." I make air quotes. " 'Kill' Mysterio?"

He sucks in a breath. "Yes, but he wasn't good."

"I didn't think so." I look at him offering a supportive smile.

"He tricked me. I thought he was someone I could trust."

"How do you know you can trust me?" I shift in my seat to be fully facing him. "I have a..well my Aunt called it a 'tingle' about you. It's a good one though."

"Ew." I make scrunch my face in fake disgust. "No no not like that." He says slight panick in his voice. When we make eye contact we immediately burst out laughing.

[shouldiusemyname]

Only Friends - The Voice of the 80's Babies

Long post

Inspired by this post by @chicademartinica and bestie @thegalwhorants's comment about the wardrobe. Also this post from @blmpff which really made me think I'm in the right direction...

Before I get into this I just wanna say that I'm posting this very hesitantly as it's a very personal view of this show (possibly within the Jojo-verse). I might be reading too much into this and projecting my own experience and the fact that Jojo is about my age, but OF feels very much a reaction of my generation. I realize that most of what I'm going to say will sound familiar and relevant to everyone (not just 80's babies) but I'll try to explain the difference between what I read as a general generational experience and a universal experience.

I said it before and after watching the first ep it has never been clearer that Only Friends is what happens when 80's babies are given a chance to settle scores.

Everything about this show screams I WAS A TEENAGER IN THE 90'S!

First of all - the clothes! EVERYTHING they're wearing is like it's taken from my high school photos 😅 I know fashion is fluid and trends will make a comeback periodically, but given what I feel they're trying to say, I believe it's intentional.

The Sex of it All

It's like a direct reaction to the way we were raised and the relationship my generation has with sex. This is very regional and cultural, but generally speaking sex was not discussed as a natural aspect of life and relationships. Sex was either shameful, dirty, reproductive, or (the worst option) over discussed without healthy boundaries. My parents' generation didn't have the tools to discuss sex with their children in a healthy way because they were also denied this conversation by their parents. So, they either hid it or overshared.

So, my generation was raised (by western media basically) believing that everyone must have sex and our social standing is directly linked to whether or not we were having sex (who said American Pie?). We weren't given the option to have different views. We were trapped by this extremely deformed view of sex and relationships.

Watching this show and the discussion around it feels like creators are calling bullshit on everything we were told about sex.

Stuck in the Middle

I'm going to generalise here, but basically people who are just slightly older than us (meaning my generation) have this very black and white attitude towards sex - there's the right time to start having sex, your partner matters (in the way that you should be in love or in a relationship), relationships are monogamous, and kink is a deviation (don't even get me started on queerness - you were either gay, straight, or a crossdresser).

On the other hand, 90's babies were born into a much wider and open world that gave them the opportunity to get a much broader picture and view about relationships and how sex plays into them. This is even as basic as just having a wider vocabulary to talk about it.

My generation was, however, stuck in the middle, left to really hindsight our way through our perception of sex and its place in relationships.

In my 20's I've witnessed so many conversations where people were analyzed over the fact that they choose not to have sex like there's something wrong with them. Why are you not having sex? What's wrong with you? You're waiting for love? - don't waste your time. You're just going to fuck whoever? - that's just wrong. There's no winning.

Furthermore, when considering what Jojo said about the discussion around queer sex in queer shows and bl - my generation was raised with the idea that being queer (which was then just being gay) was all about who you have sex with. No one ever said anything about love or gender. When I was figuring out my own sexuality, being queer was about who you wanted to sleep with, not who you loved. We still see this today when people believe that our queerness is defined by whether or not we are having queer sex, and I believe this is at least part of what @bengiyo is talking about when he talks about the internalised homophobia. This is so much of my generation carrying and passing it on because we were denied these conversations.

So Now What?

Now, creating a show that is about sex, queer sex, and how it plays into queer relationships is reclaiming the conversation about queerness as an expression of love as well as sexuality. We deserve to discuss these issues as a generation that was denied these conversations whether queer or not. And somehow, these issues are discussed more freely and openly within queerness as it has the advantage of being free of heteronormative notions.

Another reason I believe this is generational is the fact that Jojo is consistently having this discussion within his shows. I don't know how to explain it, but his shows feel like screaming liberation, like he's walking around with a baseball bat (preferably Only Friends branded) and smashing these false ideas one by one. Which is why I believe we need to look at this show as part of the Jojo-verse shows along with The Warp Effect, 3 will be free and Gay OK Bangkok. Jojo is on a mission.

Expression Within The Show

Ok, so what am I getting at after I had you read my trip to the shrink?

I believe that ALL OF THIS is expressed in the show through the group dynamics we see in our friend group. They all represent different notions and they will fight over dominance. This is the power struggle that my generation is trapped in. We need and deserve to say our peace.

This is what I meant when I said that OFTS is what happens when you're an 80's baby with shit to say.

As usual thank you for reading my ramblings. I hope you get what I'm trying to say, and clearly have issues 😅 so feel free to comment and give perspective...

[loving-jack-kelly]

Yo!! Hello!!! I am like 90% sure I've seen you post about dimension 20 before!!

I just got a dropout subscription and I'm thriving but I am looking for advice for where to start/go with the dnd-verse on it? I'm assuming that the separate campaigns are relatively stand-alone but I would love an opinion (or just input on what the actual chronology is lmao)

hehe sleeper phrase discovered i'm honored you came to me :)

so the first thing to know which you probably already do is that there is a main returning cast for some seasons, and then some campaigns are a different group with an occasional different dm. the Intrepid Heroes are Lou Wilson, Zac Oyama, Brian Murphy, Ally Beardsley, Siobhan Thompson, and Emily Axford with Brennan Lee Mulligan dming, so they play as that exact group multiple times. There's usually one or two of them in a non-main-cast campaign, too, including Brennan sometimes as a player when somebody else is dming.

So! In terms of watch order! I recommend starting with Fantasy High because it's the original campaign and also fantastic. There are currently two seasons, Fantasy High and Fantasy High: Sophomore Year, and they are both masterpieces. We're also getting Junior Year this winter which is extremely exciting for me personally because I Love Fantasy High lol. Fantasy High is a great starting point especially if you're new to dnd/dnd actual play shows (which you may not be so feel free to disregard this bit of advice lol) because multiple players are learning how to play in the first season, so there's plenty of opportunity to learn with them. It's also generally pretty light-hearted and funny, though it doesn't sacrifice story for comedy which I love. If you don't know, the concept of Fantasy High is that these young teenagers live in a world where everywhere else is a stereotypical fantasy world but their country is like. Classic high school Americana. It's silly, the characters are great, the storylines are great and only get better in Sophomore Year, it's an all around great time and great intro to D20!

I went right from Fantasy High to Unsleeping City, which is also fantastic (you'll notice a recurring theme here, I love every campaign I've watched so far lol). If you like the lighter parts of Fantasy High but want a little bit more tension, Unsleeping City is perfect. It's set in modern-day New York with a twist: there's a magical underside to the city. Lots of fantastic commentary on modern life in the storytelling that slaps, I won't spoil but it slaps, and also really wonderful characters! Unsleeping City also has two seasons, so you get to see the characters grow and change a lot over two full plotlines which is very fun!

If you like the more serious side of things, my personal favorite D20 campaign is A Crown of Candy. I watched this third and it made me cry hard enough at work that my boss asked if I was okay lol. The set-up is simple: fantasy world made of food, but make it Game of Thrones. It's intense, the stakes are high from episode one, it's incredibly character driven and everybody plays really, really interesting characters, and because of how high-stakes it is, every payoff is just insane. We all talk about Ally's poetic nat 20s and believe me, they exist, but Mr. Lou Wilson (love of my life) has a nat 20 near the end of A Crown of Candy that genuinely made me feel so crazy when it happened that I had to take a walk lol. Cannot recommend it enough, it's devastating and perfect.

A Starstruck Odyssey is really good again if you like the lighter end of thing but still want stakes and tension! The world is based of comics that Brenna's mom wrote which is really sweet, and it's a very different vibe because is sci-fi instead of pure fantasy, which is honestly really fun. Some of the characters are up there on my favorites list, shoutout to Skipper and Sundry Sydney!

In terms of the campaigns that aren't Intrepid Heroes, the first one I listened to was Misfits and Magic, which is a Harry Potter spoof dmed by Abria Ayangar, who's fantastic, and featuring Brennan as an utterly unhinged in the best way player. There's also Mice and Murder, which is a super great mystery with anthropomorphic animals that was shot on zoom over the first lockdown (a few seasons were so don't be shocked by that lol). I'm a bit more than halfway through A Court of Fey and Flowers which has been great so far, and I'm super looking forward to getting to The Ravening War, which is a prequel to A Crown of Candy, and Mentoplis, as well as the current season, Burrow's End. I have to watch Neverafter first though, which is the most recent Intrepid Heroes campaign.

Anyway! To summarize!

My advice is to start with Fantasy High and Fantasy High: Sophomore Year, and then pick which elements you liked best to decide what you want next! All of the campaigns that aren't explicitly linked are completely standalone, like I'm not missing anything important from the one's I've watched by not having watched some of the others, so don't worry too much about chronology or anything like that! The only ones that need to be watched in a specific order are the two with two seasons already, which are Fantasy High and Unsleeping City, but those are labelled quite clearly with season titles! Also if it's easier to keep track of, Dropout has the campaigns sorted into their own shows on the site so you don't have to choose seasons of D20, you can just choose A Crown of Candy.

PLEASE update me as you watch! I love love love talking D20 lol it's one of my favorite shows like ever!!

[more-than-a-princess]

SHIPPING INFO. answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

what’s your OTP for your muse(s)?

For canon muses, it's definitely Sonia/Gundham and if you've played/watched Danganronpa, it's probably obvious. Their chemistry is incredible.

That aside, some of the other canon Danganronpa character ships with Sonia I enjoy (though these are also portrayal-dependent!):

SDR2:

Sonia/Akane - Probably my next favorite ship for Sonia from her specific game. I'd love to explore a ship with these two!

Sonia/Peko - I think their dynamic could be an interesting one. They have very different personalities and yet have a sense of duty and obligation to their families. In very different contexts of course, but I feel they'd be able to understand each other a bit.

DR1:

Sonia/Byakuya - I know some of you on my dash despise him, whether in general or as a DR antagonist (but he's my favorite of the DR antags and it's absolutely no contest), but this is the canon DR character rivals to lovers ship in my book. Two generally competitive rich kids who don't think too terribly highly of each other? He thinks she has weird and unrefined hobbies and she thinks he's a snob preoccupied with money and status only. Imagine the bickering, then the bonding, then the feels.

Sonia/Kyoko - This one I can't really explain but...the vibes are there.

Sonia/Celestia - I'm imagining Celestia having copious amounts of jealousy towards Sonia before realizing she actually does enjoy her company. Meanwhile, Sonia likes having someone around who enjoys a good cup of tea and conversation: she finds Celeste darkly charming.

DRV3:

This one's a tricky one as I just don't see Sonia being romantically interested in Class 79 students while they're all attending Hope's Peak: they're just starting their journey at school while she's thinking about graduation, university, and the next steps in her life.

However, in a post-school verse, I think she'd get along well with Maki. I'm a little more torn as to if she's more platonic or romantic with the likes of Kirumi, Rantaro, and Gonta. I think it would be very portrayal-dependent here.

Otherwise, I quite like crossover and OC ships for Sonia. Considering two of my longest running and developed ships are with OCs, we're very OC-friendly over here.

My canon NOTPs for Sonia are Sonia/Chiaki (they're best friends to me, not lovers), Sonia/Sayaka (also platonic friends), and pretty much all instances of Kazuichi/Sonia. And as said above, DRV3 muses that are still in high school.

what are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

Plotted slow-burns with plenty of humor, drama, affection, and character growth, both as individuals and as a couple. For one, Sonia's an idiot when it comes to someone showing genuine affection and romantic interest in her (which is why she can tell easily when Kazuichi is fawning over/infatuated with her: it's for generally superficial reasons!). It will take time for her to figure out someone is truly in love with her. And two, I have no interest in writing a quickly developed ship.

This blog is no Amazon Prime next day shipping, y'all. Ships take threads, interactions, and development. Additionally, I prefer writing smut in the context of larger plot development and interactions, which is why you'll never see me share a smut meme. I've been burned too many times in the past by writers who, once I wrote random sex scenes, would only write with me for that.

But for Sonia specifically:

She's never going to truly love someone who, at their heart, is not a good person. They can absolutely be a bit morally grey at times (and quite often, she's attracted to that!), but at their core, they are good people: they care, they are generous, they want to make the world a better place and will stand with Sonia to do that. They wouldn't want to squash her kindness, her empathy, her generosity towards her country and the world itself. Sonia is also pretty good at detecting this in others, even when they can't see it themselves. Your muse doesn't have to be a hero in shining armor (in fact, that might make Sonia hesitate at first!) but they can't be an irredeemable villain. And I completely understand if muns prefer not to tone down their villains, that's fine! But Sonia just cannot love someone who has no good in them.

No mental/emotional manipulation/possession/forcing her against her will. I do like arranged marriage plots but it has to be with a character Sonia would actually fall for in the end, not someone forcing her hand.

Sonia will not tolerate infidelity, open relationships, and/or polygamy/amory. She's a monogamous person and due to the messiness in her family, she does not abide by anything but. The more your muse comes to know her and understand her, they'll likely understand why. It's also a liability for her future: she has to marry a royal consort one day and while the Royal Council would likely look the other way for her to conduct discreet affairs, she just can't do it. She's not poly and she never will be poly.

how large does the age gap have to be to make it uncomfortable?

Adult/minor is a no, but also as mentioned above, Sonia will not see the DRV3/Class 79 students as romantic prospects if they are all attending Hope's Peak Academy together. They are her adorable kouhais only until they've all graduated and are adults.

are you selective when shipping?

Yes. I won't apologize for it, but I'm mostly selective with ships as I want ship partners whom I get along well with in terms of writing style and are approachable OOC when needed for plotting, bare minimum.

I'm generally pretty open to different characters to ship with as long as the chemistry and mun interest are there (and for me, those characters fit the bill of what Sonia would be attracted to in the first place. See two questions above!). But my selectiveness is more to do with consistent, developed threads over time. Many muns I've encountered just don't want to do that, prefer instant love or shipping after just meeting my muse, etc. And I just don't have any interest in instant romantic love or immediate shipping. The muses have to earn the right for smooches, you know?

how far do steamy moments have to go before they’re considered NSFW?

When the clothes start coming off. Nudity at all = NSFW.

Who are other muses you ship your muse with?

I covered the DR muses specifically above but most other ships are based on chemistry. I'm familiar with a few otome games that I have preferential ships for but otherwise my ship bias comes from muses Sonia has encountered over time and/or shipping with already: @dcviated's Wylan, @quickdeaths' Shinobu, @burnxngslash's Lupin are the ones that have been solidly plotted and/or happening. I hope Sonia figures it out with @electricea's Ryuji eventually, too!

These are no by a complete list and I'm eager to explore ships with other muses, but these are the ones that have been plotted that aren't DR muses, and are actively writing long-term threads/interactions with Sonia right now.

does one have to ask to ship with you?

Yes, you do, if you are interested in that content. One, so I know that you'd like our interactions to go that route and two, we can see if there's mutual chemistry and interest there. But please, let our muses interact platonically for a little while first? :)

how often do you like to ship?

When I've got consistent threads and writing partners and we are building towards a romantic ship. When that happens please give me ship threads.

are you multiship?

Probably obvious from the above, but yes.

are you ship obsessed or ship more-or-less?

In general? Not really. With specific ships I'm writing? Yes. I just like writing, but I tend to focus more on ships when they're unfolding versus being ship obsessed overall.

what is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

For Sonia in Danganronpa it's Sonia/Gundham, obvs. But as Shinobu counts as a DR OC I think, Sonia/Shinobu will share that spot with Sonia/Gundham.

Do not point out Sonia's affinity for goths

finally, how does one ship with you?

Be an active writer and enjoy writing longer threads (I'm not a one liner or 1-2 short paragraph writer. I prefer ship partners who aren't, either). Reply to threads and, if possible, wrap up threads before starting new ones. Be enthusiastic and engaged in interactions. And then ask, especially if you've enjoyed how our muses are getting along (or perhaps not, at first! See Sonia/Byakuya) and you'd like to see if we could explore an eventual romance between them.

Stolen from: @lostusagis (I hope that's ok!) Tagging: You, if you'd like to fill this out.

[shortpplfedup]

My School President Episode 12: Curtain call

When a great show comes to an end there's always nerves about whether they can stick the landing. I'm here to tell you: My School President absolutely has, not a wobble. This show is about standing on the cusp of adulthood, about to take that first step into the future, and everything that comes along with that, looking backward and forward at the same moment. This episode put an exclamation point on that theme, not just for our boys, but for the people around them and the world they're inhabiting. Throw in a couple of absolute banger anthemic OSTs and they couldn't have ended this little high-school-musical-that-could any better. In this final episode, we say goodbye (for now, Our Skyy is coming) to Chinzhilla and crew.

Verse: The kids are alright

Love's in need of love today Don't delay Send yours in right away Hate's goin' 'round Breaking many hearts Stop it please Before it's gone too far, yeah

Stevie Wonder | Love's In Need of Love Today (1976)

One thing I don't envy about kids today is how exposed they are. As an elder Millennial, I straddle the line between the pre-internet world and the ubiquitous social media age, but I was already an adult when Facebook exploded into life. I can't imagine the pressure of trying to figure yourself out as a teenager in a world where it must feel like everybody sees everything you do and has an opinion on it. But the flipside of that is slowly becoming 'and?'. The student body's vociferous and overwhelmingly positive support for Tinn and Gun as a couple once the secret's out just about drowns out the bullshit coming from the adults about 'reputation' and 'manliness'. The kids are better than us, and they've got each other's backs, and they will ABSOLUTELY DECK A SHITTY TEACHER FOR SAYING A BUNCH OF HOMOPHOBIC GARBAGE OMG KAJORN! One of my favourite quotes of all time is from Martin Luther King Jr.: the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Change takes a long time, but things DO get better, they're getting better every day, every moment. The dinosaurs do seem long lived, and they do lay eggs, but they're being outnumbered by the humans more and more. I watch these kids do their very best to be good to each other, and I feel like the good guys are winning.

Chorus: Rock & Star

For once in my life, I have someone who needs me Someone I've needed so long For once, unafraid, I can go where life leads me Somehow I know I'll be strong For once I can touch what my heart used to dream of Long before I knew Ooh, someone warm like you Would make my dreams come true

Stevie Wonder | For Once In My Life (1968)

Gosh Tinn and Gun are lovely aren't they? The way they care for each other, how upset Gun is that Tinn was outed before he was ready, how responsible and guilty he feels about that, how he tries to put some distance between them to save Tinn's reputation, and how Tinn says 'screw all that shit, we're standing together'...that's love. How Tinn's winding up to punch that shitty teacher in the face for making Gun cry before Kajorn does it for him...that's love. How Gun wrote 'Rock & Star' from his heart and sings it directly to Tinn at prom, in front of everybody, telling everybody how he feels live on stage just like he promised he would if they won Hot Wave...that's love. Gun nervously practising how to greet Tinn's dad when he goes over to their house for dinner...that's love. And to top it all off, one very sweet, perfect kiss.

Bridge: A Tale of Two Moms

As today I know I'm living But tomorrow could make me the past But that I mustn't fear For I'll know deep in my mind The love of me I've left behind 'Cause I'll be loving you always

Stevie Wonder | As (1976)

I told y'all the words that were going to come out of Potjanee's mouth were 'I'm sorry', and I was right! I love how the show juxtaposed the two moms' conversations with their sons this ep, with Gun and Ms. Gim showing how easy it can be when you are open with your kid, and Tinn and Ms. Potjanee showing how it can be a struggle to communicate when you haven't created that environment. Gun is nervous to tell Ms. Gim, but not fearful. Tinn on the other hand...it's almost like he's bracing for impact the closer Ms. Potjanee gets to asking about it. Both moms love their kids and their kids know and feel it. Both moms are actually ok in the end with their kids being queer. But only one kid felt safe enough to tell their mom they were dating a boy. It's important nuance, that subtle difference in trust level. The pressures and expectations you put on your kids, what you label as important, they're seeing and feeling all of that, not just what you say. In this case, the messages growing up were different: from Ms. Gim, 'do what makes you happy' and from Ms. Potjanee 'do the right thing'. Neither is WRONG, but again that subtle difference. The circumstances were less than ideal, but I'm glad Tinn got to see his mom stand up so forcefully for his happiness, not just his rightness.

Outro: Chinzhilla forever

Music is a world within itself With a language we all understand With an equal opportunity For all to sing, dance and clap their hands

Stevie Wonder | Sir Duke (1976)

And so we say farewell to Chinzhilla, or at least to this iteration of it, with the promise of a new Chinzhilla to come as juniors apply to the club in waves. There's a comfort to knowing that even as we leave this universe, there will soon be some new group of kids who will become friends...nay, a family, eating BBQ pork, playing video games, making offerings to the Holy Chinchilla, and learning the chords for 'You Got Ma Back'.

Ad Libs

Of course our baby Por is the only Chinzhilla who DIDN'T know or figure out about Tinn and Gun. Sweet summer child. Who's going to law school. Prime setup for a BL Legally Blonde GMMTV!

Poor Pat, the 9th (!) wheel.

I didn't have a Sound/Win kiss on my bingo card, but that was a lovely little surprise. I adore these two.

So Pat is gonna be a pharmacist, Yo, a politician (!), Por a lawyer, Sound an actor, Win a sound engineer and Gun...Gun's gonna be a musician. Not bad for a bunch of slackers.

[bettyshoweduptotheparty]

1989 TV vault tracks first thoughts

Slut

Totally not what I expected, much more soft and reminiscent, was expecting something more salty or satirical in the direction of Blank Space

Loved the interpretation I saw on here earlier that it's being slut shamed for bearding relationships but because you love the girl it's actually worth it this time. The 'you' and 'he' pronouns would support that imo

Interesting title choice, the word slut actually only appears three times in the entire song

Say Don't Go

I'M OBSESSED!! I love this song so much, it has such an awesome pop vibe and fits the album so well, I've already danced in my car to it today

Nice little Alice reference 😉 (fading into madness)

The first few bars of the verses sound the same as Clean

'I'm standing on a tightrope alone' is my new favourite way of saying that only one person is in danger of getting hurt here. Miss Taylor Swift, writer of the world's most beautiful imagery has done it again. Also, nice shoutout to mirrorball. Love it when we get phrases and words in vault tracks that she later used in other songs

'cards you won't show'/'I'm about to fold' reminded me of Cornelia Street - 'back when we were card sharks, playing games/ I thought you were leading me on'

-> this makes so much sense that she would think that her Cornelia Street muse would lead her on if the previous one in fact did treat her that way. Love it when we get a song that fills the blanks in a story!

Now That We Don't Talk

not my favourite but not a skip either

'cannot be your friend/platonic' friendship-romance blurred lines

'You part the crowd like the Red Sea' - someone knows their bible stories, I felt that 😬

apparently the yacht is a haylor reference??

Suburban Legends

also a great bop, good mood driving song!

friends/romance blurred lines theme continues

Not sure what to make of the high school romance theme but very on brand for Taylor

'slide on a slippery plastic summer' gives me the mental image of Taylor's 4th July parties and waterslides

'born to be suburban legends' gives me big reputation vibes

Open ended: The muse doesn't knock anymore (does she have a key now??) 'and I always knew it' (what? did they end up together?)

Is It Over Now?

If we didn't know about I Can See You, this would be her earliest song with the most obvious sex references

wasn't expecting the strong references to cheating (lying traitor), thought if anything, that would come up in Slut

'wilt of the rose' -> 'flowers that we'd grown together died of thirst'

maybe the most salty picture of the muse: not only is this person a cheater, they also ignore her so hard that she's willing to jump off of things to provoke a reaction...

'say the one thing I've been wanting..but no' reminded me of 'I say I love you, you say nothing back' which strongly suggests to me that these two are about the same person

very much opposed to 'You're not saying you're in love with me, but you're going to' -> this is about a different person

found it a bit funny that the cheating partner here is being called out for sleeping with models 😉🤭 (sorry, not sorry)

Summary: they are all awesome, not a single skip! Slightly more clear why she so strongly needed to make a point of not sexualizing her friendships when she then throws five new songs out that all continue the age old theme of secret love in the dark and blurred lines between friendship and romance...*sigh*

[our-flag-means-love]

earlier this year i made this playlist with the target audience of Specifically Myself, comprised of s1's story and some s2 predictions, but as you may have noticed, s2 has since come out. as such, i think it's time for:

Ed x Stede, as told by The Killers (SEASON 2 UPDATE)

19 songs, 76 minutes in total.

(also on youtube, if you don't use spotify or aren't able to listen in order, which is the recommended way of consuming it)

in addition to adding new songs, i'm also going to be revising my explanations throughout the whole playlist, so even if you read the s1 post, there will be some new stuff to enjoy too!

explanation and lyric highlights for each song can be found under the cut. last time i tried to keep things concise but this time all bets are off. a full paragraph per song.

also! i recognize that an hour and 16 minutes is quite the time investment to ask of anyone, so here is my recommendation for abridged listening, the songs for which i think listening to the whole thing really does enhance the experience: #5, #7, #10, #14, #18, #19, clocking in at 24 minutes. and if you're going to listen to ONE SONG, make it #14.

(lyrics are mostly taken from genius but a few parts are just what i know to be true in my heart if i think genius is wrong)

1. boy

this can be read as either an ed childhood song or a stede childhood song, or both. feeling awkward in your own skin, feeling confined to your hometown and unable to reach your full potential. things i definitely think both of them felt as they grew up.

these streets / weren't meant to house / jet-fueled engine dreams

2. When You Were Young

BANGER ALERT!!! this song is for sure about ed's childhood and religious trauma because i mean come ON.

you sit there in your heartache / waiting on some beautiful boy to / to save you from your old ways

he doesn't look a thing like jesus / but he talks like a gentleman / like you imagined when you were young

3. I Can't Stay

my apologies for jumping straight from the arguably best song on this playlist to the definitely worst song on this playlist. but it had to be done, because this one's about stede leaving mary.

in the dark / for a while now /[...]/ i can't stay / much longer / riding my decision home

4. The Man

this one's about Blackbeard™. despite the title, this is the "myth" and "legend" part of the phrase "the man, the myth, the legend." tall, broad, head made of smoke, nine guns, etc. the terror of the seven seas.

don't try to teach me / i got nothing to learn / 'cause baby i'm gifted

i got skin in the game / i don't feel no pain / i got news for you baby, you're looking at the man

5. Flesh And Bone

another BANGER ALERT!!! and remember how i brought up "the man, the myth, the legend"? well, this is the "man" part, because as it turns out, ed is an actual person too. one who's aging and growing tired of piracy.

but i'm not sure how / this natural selection / picked me out to be / a dark horse running in a fantasy

what are you afraid of? / and what are you made of? / flesh and bone / and i'm running out of time

6. Tidal Wave

they! are! in! love! for the first verse the pronouns could be read either way, but then for the second verse "he" is stede and "she" is ed (you'll see why) bc damnit i'm taking this song from the hets, it's mine now.

you say this life has given you nothing / you got another thing coming

now the story of / forbidden love / has gotta make a stand

7. Andy, You're A Star

on a surface level reading, this song is about high school sports. but if you dig a bit deeper, the izzy can be found. in this song, the narrator greatly admires andy and his skills, but uh oh! andy is prioritizing love over fame and success! this simply will not do!

in a car with a girl / promise me she's not your world / 'cause andy, you're a star / in nobody's eyes but mine

8. Mr. Brightside

is this song overplayed? hell yes! is it also the best song to illustrate stede's feelings about ed and calico jack! you bet your ass it is!

jealousy / turning saints into the sea / swimming through sick lullabies / choking on your alibis

9. Neon Tiger

the law has finally caught up with stede, but ed is determined to protect him from chauncey's wrath at all costs. gonna be honest, this song might be the weakest fit on this whole list. so sue me, idk.

you're far too pure and bold / to suffer the strain of the hand and its hold

run neon tiger / there's a price on your head / they'll hunt you down and gut you / i'll never let 'em touch you

10. Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf

once again, BANGER ALERT!!! who's jennifer? we only know stede bonnet. and ed misses him. he's drinking and depressed in his blanket fort and ready to snap with enough prodding (from izzy, obvs). for the last 10-ish seconds, i want you to picture ed's smile right before he pushes lucius overboard.

before you say goodbye / leave the bourbon on the shelf / and i'll drink it by myself / and i love you endlessly / darling, don't you see? / i'm not satisfied / until i hold you tight

11. Everything Will Be Alright

stede is determined to find ed and do whatever it takes to get to him. he's not ready to believe that they're over. they're just on a break.

i'm coming to find you / if it takes me all night / wrong until / you make it right

you don't need to compromise / i'm dreaming 'bout those dreamy eyes

12. The Rising Tide

in my s1 playlist i referred to this as an angry ed breakup song, but upon further examination, i really think ed is the person the song is about rather than the narrator (although tbh, imagining both the "i"s and the "you"s as ed works solidly well). this song represents his mental health spiral.

before life and the dream collide / 'cause the truth's gonna come and cut me open wide

and the company you keep / well they plan your crucifixion as we speak

13. Rut

now ed's in the gravy basket. part of him wants to give up, but the rest wants to keep fighting, he's just not sure how. this song—particularly the ending, the desperation in the repeated "don't you give up on me"s—is also ed's pov of the eventual reunion.

i've done my best defending / but the punches are starting to land / i'm sliding into something you won't understand

but don't give up on me / 'cause i'm just in a rut / i'm climbing but the walls keep stacking up

14. My List

this and #18 are the songs i couldn't make work on the s1 playlist that i'm so glad i got to include this time. god i love this one so much and it's so perfect for stede's pov of the reunion. the quiet lamentation in the first half. the desperation in the second half. top tier shit. it's so perfectly stede in that scene. move over, kate bush.

and when you come back in from nowhere / do you ever think of me?

when your heart / is not able / and your prayers / they're not fables /[...]/ let me show you how much i care

15. Have All The Songs Been Written?

now the boys need to talk, and maybe stede has some apologizing to do. he knows how much he hurt ed, and he wants to make amends. he wants to win him back over if at all possible.

have all the songs been written? / have all your needs been met? / have all these years been worth it / or am i the great regret?

i just need one more to get through to you / i can't take back what i've done wrong

16. For Reasons Unknown

this is around s2e5. they're on good terms but still insecure, still warming back up to each other, and still taking things slow. full disclosure: i let myself add this song because i was sad about having to cut "bones" and this one i could make fit better.

with one deep breath / and one big step / i move a little bit closer

and my lips / they don't kiss / they don't kiss the way they used to / and my eyes don't recognize you no more

17. Be Still

i wanted to use "bones" for when they fuck. i really really did. but it just didn't fit the tone. stede just killed someone intentionally for the first time, and he's still running on all those complicated emotions as he and ed have some of the sweetest and most awkward sex ever imagined by man.

don't break character / you've got a lot of heart / is this real or just a dream?

when you come back / tell me, what did you see? / was there something out there for me?

18. A Matter Of Time

UNDERRATED DEEP CUT ALERT!!! as mentioned in #14, i'm psyched to include this song. this is their s2e7 breakup. the drama, the conflict. stede laughing with his girlfriends, so to speak, as ed sits in his own emotions. two people trying and failing to make it work.

i see you / laughing with your girlfriends / not a care in the world / not a burden on your mind / it was a matter of time

can't you see that it's tearing me up inside? / look what's laying at our feet / that's the wreckage of broken dreams

19. All These Things That I've Done

one final time, with conviction: BANGER ALERT!!! ed has to come to terms with himself. he must accept the parts of him that can kill and the parts of him that can love in equal measure. it's the only way for him to find peace, and to hold on long enough to retire with stede.

these changes ain't changing me / the cold-hearted boy i used to be

while everyone's lost / the battle is won / with all these things that i've done

if you've stuck around with me for this long, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING! hopefully either your brain was already as rotted by this band as mine is or i've indoctrinated you by now. i'm also in the (slow, very very slow) process of making a video edit set to "all these things that i've done" and i'll update this post with the link when (if) that's eventually done!

[ultrajustjo]

Week 3: Visio divina

Historic murals in Zion Lutheran Church, Athens, NY; Basilica, University of Notre Dame

Sanctuary of Zion Lutheran Church, Athens, NY. Photo taken June 16, 2023.

Visio divina

Welcome to Week 3 of my prayer exercise. This week, we step away from the Met, but not from architectural forms. I attended a colleague's studio's piano recital at Zion Lutheran last week. My children and I have also performed here, and my family has attended ecumenical services here. I was happy to be back in Zion, as it's a small, welcoming upstate New York church -- by that, I mean that the sanctuary is cozy, and the building is historical, as are most Mainline Protestant churches here. I love worshiping in the Basilica at Notre Dame or at Duke Chapel when I'm down for my intensive weeks, but the smaller worship spaces in our Northeastern villages are home. Most are similar, and some, regardless of denomination, have the same blueprint (having used the same artisans).

If you are a church history fan, click here:

The recital was lovely and showcased serious young people who pursue their passions for piano performance.

Today is the Saint Day for Aloysius Gonzage, whose relics are housed in the Basilica, because he died on this day several hundred years ago. He was also a young person who pursued his passions. Coincidence?

Here's a bit about him:

Aloysius Gonzaga

died midnight June 20-21

patron saint of young catholics, died age 23

headstrong teen with ideas his father opposed

forbidden by Jesuit superiors from too much prayer: he needed a balanced life. He "pursued" relationship with God as his main passion

Read more about him here where you can see depictions of him at the University of Notre Dame, including a mural found within the Basilica:

https://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sid=1210&gid=609&calcid=53508&calpgid=61&pgid=15208&crid=0

* A quick memorial to my high school algebra teacher and quiz team coach Mr. Gillette, whose middle name was Aloysius -- a fact he grudgingly revealed when none of us could guess his name. He smoked like a chimney and drove us off campus without permission (it was the 80s), he accepted and respected pregnant and newly married teens, and he was unpretentious to the point of being loved by his critical teen students. He was an Army man turned teacher, God bless him. His mother knew what she was doing when she named him after a saint for the young. I didn't know it then, but Mr. Gillette was a saint sent to us.*

Getting back to the recital, and Zion Lutheran's sanctuary, I invite you to imagine a piano program played with increasing skill as a backdrop to a meditation. I don't have a link for that, but you can play this in the background as you keep reading.

The verses

We are continuing in the gospel of Matthew, this week in Matt. 6:1-6. The verses that grabbed my attention are verses 1 and 6.

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

The Meditation

Praying in public and in a leadership role is a weird thing for me, having been raised to pray quietly, privately, authentically, and spontaneously (not by rote). Adding my gender and its ensuing religious issues into that public prayer mix creates a barrier that I must constantly work to overcome. More on that, maybe, in the next post on contemplation.

The mural: Ok, ok, it isn't really a mural, but we're viewing the art on the wall, and OF the wall at Zion Lutheran. The art we are contemplating IS the worship wall. What strikes you about the images and words on the wall? How does this compare to the mural of Aloysius at Notre Dame? How do they relate, or do they relate, to the verses from Matthew?

What words stuck with you when you read the passage? What phrases do you keep coming back to? How do you feel about them? Do they inspire you? Irritate or confuse you? Are you ok with this?

Time now to sit for a moment in silence and let God continue to dwell with you.

[peppermintack]

time for a totally self-indulgent roundup of

ten albums that changed my brain chemistry forever!

with commentary! i tried to avoid repeating bands/artists just for some variation here. okay, let's go:

#10: We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong—Sharon Van Etten

this was one of the better products of covid. sharon van etten is insanely talented. also this was sort of the look i was going for when i chopped my hair off later that year; i did not look nearly as cool as she did

the vibe: haunted house after a wildfire

uncontested favourite: come back—sometimes it's just cathartic to scream COME BAAAAAAAAAAACK. you know

unexpected bop: headspace—not the vibe i usually go for, but i like her use of lyric repetition, and that particularly stands out in this song

honourable mention: darkness fades—she has VOCAL RANGE. when this comes on and i'm singing in the car i have some trouble keeping up

notable skip: mistakes

#9: Bloom—Beach House

there are no bad beach house albums, but i have to give preference to the one that got me into beach house. some people would argue that depression cherry is their defining album. as much as i adore beyond love and PPP, it's not.

the vibe: your life is changing very rapidly and you're also a little bit stoned

uncontested favourite: on the sea—it's rare that a beach house song feels peaceful, and i enjoy feeling like i'm floating off in a wooden box somewhere like those guys from madagascar but under a very red sunset. it also might be about dying. i'm not sure

unexpected bop: the hours—this one has more of a jolt of energy than the others, i think

honourable mention: myth—one of the few songs my best friend and i agree that we love, and the first song by this band i ever heard

notable skip: irene

#8: The News Today—Carry Hatchet

chris larkin, absolute icon. incredible actor, talented musician, and, by all accounts (including mine), a really lovely person. this is quite literally a very quiet album, but well worth turning up the volume a few notches.

the vibe: acoustic storm warning

uncontested favourite: eternal night—evocative of that one person from your high school who got married too soon and missed out on some stuff. the last verse particularly is so good

unexpected bop: the only one to blame—i don't know who he dueted with here (i could probably look it up, but i'm lazy) but their voices blend so well

honourable mention: no words—a good instrumental can tie together an album (see: anna ransom's tides EP) and this one fits exactly where it's supposed to

notable skip: no skips!!! this is a no skip album!!!!!

#7: Expert In A Dying Field—The Beths

i'm sorry to say i only just recently got into the beths—around this time last year, i think—but they've definitely made an impression in a short amount of time.

the vibe: getting over a breakup by going jogging

uncontested favourite: keep the distance (demo)—ONLY BECAUSE THERE'S NO OTHER VERSION??? why would they do this to me. good news is the demo version slaps

unexpected bop: when you know you know—you know you know you know you know you know you know you know (etc etc)!!!!!

honourable mention: i want to listen—filed under songs to play right before you get sucked into the christmas music vortex

notable skip: silence is golden

#6: This Empty Northern Hemisphere—Gregory Alan Isakov

now this is an album that aligns with my usual taste. music to play when you're sad but you've got a shift at work so you just hang out in the back room and throw dog food bags around with one earbud in and yeah okay i might be describing an overly specific experience

the vibe: wandering the woods at dusk hoping to befriend a wolf

uncontested favourite: master & a hound—re: woods, dusk, dog food bag depression

unexpected bop: evelyn—there's just something really catchy about it. i tried not to like this one. i lost

honourable mention: big black car—i mean, sorry, this is The iconic song from this album and i can't not say something about it

notable skip: virginia may

#5: I Am Easy To Find—The National

it's somewhat troublesome that i can classify phases of my life going back SEVERAL years by "what mintack fic was i writing at the time." on this occasion, it was january of 2021, and i was quarantining for two weeks in a dorm room with nothing to do but drink the endless cranberry juice they dropped off at my door, watch the insurrection news unfold on twitter, write my mintack wilds au, and listen to i am easy to find over and over.

the vibe: distilled loneliness

uncontested favourite: i am easy to find—simple, but utterly wrenching under the right circumstances

unexpected bop: where is her head—i! think! i'm! hitting! a! wall! i think! i'm hitting a wall!

honourable mention: not in kansas—another one i can sing word for word but i still don't understand some of the references. it goes off though which is what matters

notable skip: underwater

#4: Becalmyounglovers—Bowerbirds

i LOVE this album. it's just, like…fun. fresh. happy. sad. hopeful! regretful! it's great. no notes. i'd maybe change one lyric in the entire album because i don't think they need to talk about hashtags

the vibe: frolicking in the american south

uncontested favourite: all this rain—i initially latched onto this one because it fit the vibes of a book i love but it's just so so good. one of my top ten songs ever for sure

unexpected bop: pennies—there's just something about new connections and starting over and inherent optimism

honourable mention: revel revel—solely for didn't i want it bad enough? maybe i wasn't scared enough. i don't know why that line hit so hard but it did

notable skip: no skip album!!!!!!!!!!!

#3: How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?—Big Red Machine

oooh my god i love a collaboration. i LOVE a collaboration. and they got at least like a dozen fucking excellent artists together for this. bonus points for putting taylor swift on a song where you can barely tell she's there. not because i dislike her i just think it's funny

the vibe: you're throwing a party but it's more group commiseration hours and no one is going to have fun

uncontested favourite: phoenix—how does the wheel not turn hour on hour on hour!!!! fleet foxes came through with this one

unexpected bop: mimi—i will never not listen to this one when it plays. i'm not a music expert, i don't know what weird shit they did with the tempo, but i love the chorus cutting in on that unexpected beat

honourable mention: the ghost of cincinnati—iirc this is the one where they made aaron dessner sing the whole thing alone which is not his usual deal and it was so so worth it. i've never been to cincinnati but i'm nodding along like i know what the hell he's talking about

notable skip: easy to sabotage

#2: Heiress—Novo Amor & Ed Tullett/Lowswimmer

truly one of the albums of ALL TIME. this changed my entire outlook on music in high school. it's the perfect mix of both of these artists—heartfelt, ambiguous, and deeply metaphorical. i think if i mapped these songs out on paper somehow i could draw the lines where ed and ali's contributions meet. this album was taken off streaming for 0.2 seconds and i panicked and bought the vinyl because i couldn't find a CD and i had no intention of losing it forever

the vibe: swimming in cold water but enjoying the numbness in your limbs

uncontested favourite: terraform—another book-associated song i grew deeply attached to. and you can't listen to it without the song that comes after it, freehand. they're a set. do not separate

unexpected bop: anatome—once again i like to test the limits of my vocal range

honourable mention: vantablack—the chorus is a bit of a tongue-twister but that's the fun of it i think

notable skip: no skips. no shuffling. i listen start to finish as intended

#1: Transatlanticism—Death Cab for Cutie

to absolutely no one's surprise…

the vibe: late summer yearning

uncontested favourite: a lack of color—oh my godddd oh my GOD what crack did they put in this song!!!!!

second uncontested favourite: i'm going to break my own rules because passenger seat deserves recognition too

unexpected bop: death of an interior decorator—i was torn between this and the sound of settling but i just really love this one. it's such a sweet-sounding song for such a hopeless character

honourable mention: title and registration—okay, so this is the part where i admit that an enormous chunk of my personality is because i found this band through this song through a kabby (the 100) modern au fic. if you want to read it it's called tabula rasa. of course the song is incredible on its own but i feel obligated to share that

notable skip: no skips. NO skips. skip under penalty of death. if you put a gun to my head i would concede that we looked like giants is at the bottom of the list but i still love it

and that's it! if you read this entire thing, why! hope you enjoyed my incoherent rambling

[notesofarichlycolorednight]

s1ep10 reflekta

23rd verse same as the first. pacing was okay. set-up was dumb and contrived.

i love juleka's english va. like nathaniel, she doesn't sound like a high schooler, but whoever is voicing juleka has that evil laugh on lock. she has a fun voice.

i'm annoyed that chat noir was completely null in this episode. when, again, ladybug and chat noir are supposed to balance each other out. so it stands to reason that if he's voided, ladybug can't do her side of things bc things are too imbalanced. that's like. literally what yin and yang is and means. i don't understand (that's a lie, i do understand) how they got it so backwards.

the creator kept telling us that it's about balance without actually knowing what that meant or, more importantly, showing us that. if they were truly partners who could not be without each other, then there has to be raised stakes where if chat noir goes out, so does ladybug in some way.

a better written show would've thought through that and, to raise the stakes, would've shown that in like. a two-parter finale.

like imagine if they had actually been more balanced and equally contributed to defeating akuma. and both of them could cleanse akuma in their own way. but they never lose. it may seem close at times, but they win the day. but then. in pt1 of the season finale, chat noir gets taken out (or ladybug, if we're going for truly balanced here), and suddenly the other who is left behind is unable to defeat the akuma until they figure out a way to get their partner back. like how tense would that be!! can you imagine the stakes if hawkmoth figured that out! you could build up to that in the next season, even. like maybe he doesn't notice in the s1 finale, but you start to slowly build it up more over the next season and he exploits that to raise the stakes even more!

and this is just me brainstorming on the fly. can you imagine what they could've written had they actually put thought and care into the story?

another thing that annoyed me was chat noir trying to make his case for ladybug to take him with her to fight reflekta. he comments he sometimes has ideas, and i just honestly wanted to laugh, bc like when? when has he had an idea that tangibly contributed to helping them defeat the akuma. if he was as smart as ladybug, he wouldn't have gotten so caught up in trying to get the already-turned kids out of the school, and instead focused on finding reflekta. not only was his catalysm not going to be useful, but he turned his back on his enemy.

that also makes me think about how sometimes they silently communicate or they just know what the other is thinking and will act accordingly. which i think is supposed to be demonstrative of like how they're partners and are supposed to be yin and yang, but that once again misunderstands what yin and yang actually is and means. also you should teach children that communication is always important, even in close relationships like ladybug and chat noir are presumably supposed to be. it's really not clear and it's never really shown to us in the show.

the final scene in the tv station was also annoying bc they had a really good setup had they not fucked it up. esp bc the way they did end up writing it was totally backwards? ladybug tells chat noir to cut the lights but can she see in the dark? literally the first episode shows us she can't and that chat noir has night vision!!! AND THEY DON'T UTILIZE HIS NIGHT VISION BC THEY TURNED HIM INTO A REFLEKTA. LIKE MAYBE THE WRITERS SHOULD'VE JUST GONE BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD AT THAT POINT.

i can just see them story-boarding this and getting to this part and someone bringing up the fact that ladybug can't see in the dark but chat noir has night vision bc he's a cat. and the writers being utterly at a loss at what to do. like instead of trying to write a better script that keeps chat noir as chat noir so they could actually have him be useful and use what they established in episode one, they just. idk. thought it would be fine.

they set something up and never wrote the fucking pay-off.

the fact that chat noir can't take a few jokes. pathetic. he's fine dishing them out but can't take them himself. weaksauce. don't give if you can't take, chat noir.

also (and i know this is a lot less organized) i didn't like the lesson/"bad luck" marinette had to deal with in this episode. tikki scolding her for sneaking into the principal's office to delete a photo, and then chloe blackmailing marinette felt so wrong on so many levels. again, it's not a bad thing for her to do something wrong under the guise of her thinking she's doing something right. in a better show.

but as i've stated before, we never feel marinette ever learns from these little incidences bc they write the show like it's episodic. so everything resets at the beginning of a new episode.

this is not to mention that chloe has once again gotten another akumatized, and marinette is forced to protect someone who should have been turned into soup in the last episode (that i watched, not in the word of god order). i honestly don't like the message it teaches people. that you should be kinder overall to everyone, even the person who bullies you and your friends, who's racist, and classist, and every other ism bc what do you expect from a rich, white, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl.

like no! you have no obligation to be nice to people who have blatantly, time and time again, demonstrated that they do not respect you as a human being. again, anyone who acts that violently racist should be turned into fucking soup!

[tsuki-sennin]

Happy Holidays~!

Hate to uh... self-promote here, but I did a thing and apparently adding art to a custom tag retroactively doesn't work~!

If'n you couldn't tell, I'm really enjoying Gotchard. Spoilers, I guess...

-The Manabe fam~! ...and also the movie I have no means of watching yet~!

-Lots of dudes we've yet to gather.

-Oh! Since they were here for a sec, I absolutely love how disconnected Zyukumpire is from the rest of the Chemies artstyle-wise. It has the same energy as that one Webkinz that was literally just a realistic plush beaver.

-No rest for the Gotcha Squad.

-Help us Kudo

-You'll debut soon... I can feel it.

-Clotho's genuinely murderous now.

-Oh fuck, Geryon!

-Seems like eve Lachesis feels genuine terror in his presence.

-OH FUCK

-That is not your body, old timer.

-Yay, Chrimbus~!

-Ohhhhh... Hopper-chan...

-Oh!

-Oh I didn't realize she was already with The Sun and Unicon.

-Rinne-chan :)

-"That really fucked me up, man. Anyways, I'm Majade now :)"

-Y'know, I ain't even mad, she deserved that silver screen debut.

-Professor Kyouka...

-Oh!

-I see, you've got that in there, huh?

-"Real Kamen Rider power."

-Y'know, he made that system himself, he can hear you.

-24 hours, baby~!

-Kajiki, don't think Santa's usually heralded by red thunderclouds.

-OH FUCK THEY LEADED HIM

-"Hello, Kamen Rider."

-"This isn't a Chemy's doing alone, it's a Malgam, I just know it!"

-I'm gonna assume X Wizard as shown in the movie had a bit of Malgam going on with them so this statement holds water.

-Oh yeah, get 'im Spanner.

-"Do it, my dear pupil :3"

-Tekkou!

-Ooooogh, that's messing him up.

-Oh shit LightningJungle.

-You could stand to be a little nicer to

-"...Eh?"

-Oh....

-That poor kiddo..

-Santa believer Houtaro has discovered the villain's trick.

-Y'know, all high school heroines deserve a solar weapon.

-JyamtaNoOrochi's a very thicc boi.

-"No! I outrank you, you little-"

-FlayRose~!

-"Are you having fun, Kamen Rider? It's so delightfully interesting, is it not?"

-Dang....

-The drive to protect smashes through all pain.

-Enter.

-The second Kamen Rider.

-...not named Rinne, of course.

-Holy shit...

-He is burning.

-"Rise, my son."

-That's not our Gotchadriver as we know it.

-This bug is extra spicy.

-Burning Fever~!

-"Ichinose Hotaro!"

-Oh! Okay, he's legitimately helping us, gotcha.

-RISING FIGHTER SECOND VERSE FUCK YES

-Let's go, X-Rex!

-That boy's alright.

-"Oh no you don't!"

-Be free, thicc snek.

-And Lachesis-san too.

-Jyamaaaa...

-...Other Gotchard?

-Sorry, Kajiki. Santa only hangs around Wizards off duty.

-Present~!

-What is it? :3

-Ahhhhh~! A flower~! How cute~!

-"So uh... do you know how that orange guy is?"

-OH

-OHHHHHHHH HERE HE IS

-Oh, I know that guy, that' Kenta Kamakari, he's the voice of Itsuki in Air Gear and Edgeshot in My Hero.

-"Ohhhhhhh this is so bad..."

-Who are you, Daybreak-san?

-Geryon Real, Daybreak unclear, alchemical discovery of a lifetime inbound.

[jordanincambodia]

September: ខែកញ្ញា!

Pronounced khae kenyah, or month September, in English. So much learned this month, and I'm not just talking about the baby duck egg I tried last night. I am super excited to update y'all on everything that's going on here in Phnom Penh. I have been posting a lot on food and travel which has been only a small part of my adventure here, so this update will touch a little more on other experiences. Let's get to it!

Flooded streets in Phnom Penh are a pretty common site in the rainy season, which is from June to October typically. Tuk tuks, cars, and motos just drive through these mini rivers and spray anyone who is silly enough to be standing or riding nearby. It's also really important to remember where the deep potholes are, since they are almost always hidden under the murky brown water, can be more than a foot deep, and have rebar sticking out. My tuk tuk driver ran into a huge pothole a few weeks ago and I thought the vehicle was going to shatter into bite-sized pieces from the force of our stop, but thankfully we dusted ourselves off (figuratively speaking) and the tuk tuk still worked. Also, to conclude my warning about Phnom Penh stormwater, it is very often that flooding can cause stormwater to mix with septic systems. If you don't know what that is, just repeat after me: n a s t y.

Here's me checking out a medical center under construction with my buddy and construction manager, Visal (you may remember him from the great speech he made about Koi boba in one of my earlier posts). It was a great experience for me to see EMI building plans in action, as well as seeing construction workers referring to EMI drawings and instructions as they worked. While I hadn't worked on any drawings or designs for the site I visited in the picture above, I now have a much better idea of how drawings and design are implemented out in construction later on. So cool!

Last week, I had the amazing opportunity of visiting the Killing Fields at Choeng Ek. Choeng Ek is another memorial commemorating the genocide that happened during the reign of the Khmer Rouge, and there is no word to describe what happened here. That said, I don't mind never going back to that museum. Onwards!

Here are a few water filters that we observed at a local Christian school that are currently in action. Phnom Penh piped water is actually fairly high quality most of the time, the exception being when floodwaters are high. These filter set-ups are another level of defense for water quality and are similar to what I worked on in California Baptist University for my Capstone project, utilizing cartridge filters, ultra filters, activated carbon, and some post-filtration minerals/taste treatment. While these filters are incredibly effective and can produce good-tasting water, they are typically too expensive for remote villages to afford. I am praying for and researching several different methods for inexpensive, sustainable filtration. I would love your prayer for this as well!

Last night, I went to the riverside with several church friends and was able to get this photo. Across the river is the heavily tourist-y part of town with attractions, restaurants, and hotels, so beautiful. Near, you can see boats used by the homeless to sleep in and live. Seeing this really made me think.

Overall, the past few months have been an incredibly humbling learning experience. Spiritually, I've been talking and thinking and processing so much through guidance of a mentor and friends at EMI and church. I think I've memorized over 10 Bible verses now while in Cambodia, as well- no small feat for someone like me that hates memorizing things. Either way, I have so much to be thankful for, and so excited for what the next half of this time in Cambodia will bring. Thanks for tuning in and I'll see y'all very soon ;)

Jord

[lcnnypooha]

It’s the end of the day. Classes are done and the weekend is upon them. Lenny’s whole being is filled with relief at the thought of a weekend without school. She’s walking outside of the school, when Lenny witnesses her classmate stumble and fall. The blonde rushed over to the girl immediately. Blue eyes are filled with worry as she stands over the brunette. 

“I just wanted --- um, to, to make s-sure --- you’re okay.” She stares down at her, extending a hand for the girl to take. “That uh, seemed like a n-nasty fall.” she comments. Upon closer inspection, Lenny recognizes the girl. They’re in the same class, but this is the first time she’s ever spoken to her. The blonde is very shy and usually keeps to herself.

@tophatz​ :: liked for an rp meme based starter! :: soft and sweet sentence starters. // with Anzu.