#it was a 4-year drought and i hate it

[fleurcttes]

☆

[bestanimal]

Round 2 - Arthropoda - Branchiopoda

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Branchiopoda is a class of small, mainly freshwater crustaceans that feed on plankton and detritus. They are comprised of 9 orders: Anostraca (“Fairy Shrimp”), Anomopoda (“Water Fleas”), Ctenopoda (also “Water Fleas”), Cyclestherida (“Clam Shrimp”), Laevicaudata (also “Clam Shrimp”), Spinicaudata (also “Clam Shrimp”), Haplopoda (“Predatory Water Fleas”), Onychopoda (“Water Fleas” again), and Notostraca (“Tadpole/Shield Shrimp”).

Branchiopods are found mainly in freshwater, including temporary pools and hypersaline lakes, and some in brackish water. Those that live in temporary pools are known for having eggs that can dry out for long periods of time and hatch once they are submerged in water, as an adaptation to drought. Only two families, one in Onychopoda and one in Ctenopoda, contain marine species. Most eat detritus or plankton, catching them in the setae on their appendages. Notostracans are opportunistic omnivores that will feed on algae, bacteria, other branchiopods like Anostracans, and even small fish.

Branchiopods are characterized by the presence of gills on many of the animals’ appendages, including the mouthparts. Most have compound eyes and a carapace. In the Clam Shrimp, the carapace prevents the use of the legs for swimming, so the antennae are used for locomotion instead, as they are in nauplius larvae.

The oldest known branchiopod was Rehbachiella kinnekullensis of the Upper Cambrian. Notostracans in particular have a good fossil record, with the oldest known species being Strudops goldenbergi from the Late Devonian. Notostracans are often described as “Living Fossils” due to their lack of major morphological change over 250 million years.

Propaganda under the cut:

Both Triops (a genus of Notostracan) and Artemia (a genus of Anostracan) make popular low maintenance aquarium pets, respectively called “Dinosaur Shrimp” and “Sea-monkeys” in the pet trade.

Triops longicaudatus helps control the West Nile virus, as they prey on Culex mosquito larvae.

In Japan, Triops cancriformis are used as biological pest control, kept in rice paddies to eat weeds.

Most branchiopods feed on small plankton and detritus, but some are large(r) predators, and Notostracans aren’t the only ones! The Giant Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta gigas) can get up to 86 mm (3.4 in) long, lives in hypersaline lakes and rivers, and eats copepods and other branchiopods: mainly other fairy shrimp.

The genus Artemia, also known as Brine Shrimp, are commonly bred to feed fish and crustacean larvae, both in fish farms and in aquarium tanks, due to their ease of rearing, richness in nutrients, and tendency to be the preferred snack of small fish. Daphnia, a genus of Anomopod, are also often bred as fish food, as well as for amphibian larvae.

Artemia urmiana was once abundant in Lake Urmia of Iran, but drought has caused their population to drastically decline, leading to fears that they were nearly extinct. However, a second population has been discovered in Koyashskoye Salt Lake of Ukraine, giving hope for their recovery.

Scientists have taken the eggs of Artemia salina to outer space to test the impact of radiation on life. The brine shrimp eggs traveled on U.S. Biosatellite 2, Apollo 16, and Apollo 17 missions, and on the Russian Bion-3 (Cosmos 782), Bion-5 (Cosmos 1129), Foton 10, and Foton 11 flights. On Apollo 16 and Apollo 17, the cysts traveled to the Moon and back. Unfortunately, the results showed A. salina eggs are highly sensitive to cosmic radiation… 90% of the embryos died at different developmental stages.

Clam shrimp convergently evolved a shell similar to a bivalve. Both valves of the shell are held together by a strong closing muscle. The animals react to danger by contracting the muscle so that the valves close tightly and the crustacean floats motionlessly to the bottom of the water.

Daphnia are used in scientific studies as a model organism. Because they are nearly transparent, their internal organs are easy to study in live specimens. They are often used to test the effects of toxins and climate change, assisting with the assessment of ecological impacts caused by human disturbance.

One time, while looking at pond water under microscope, I saw a Chydorus sphaericus and squealed out loud cause it was so cute, and my professor made fun of me. But look at this. The Cheat lookin ass:

[angelshizuka]

I have to wonder if the insane amount of hatred Helluva Boss gets, other than the internet getting off on hating Vivienne, is due to the amount of time there was between episodes so people had too much time to build expectations for the show’s direction AND because of the wait time, people treat the show like it had 4 full seasons, when we have only gotten 20 episodes released out of a 50 episode show.

I’ll never say that Helluva Boss is a masterfully written show with no flaws, but it is still a good show and I strongly believe it would not be getting this degree of hatred if it wasn’t an indie show that had a lot of time in between episodes.

I'd assume it's at least part of the reason.

Though I get the idea behind it, these people need to get it through their thick skulls that at the end of the day this is an indie animation show that can only make so many episodes a year. Especially at the start it didn't have as much funding compared to now where the process is a bit more streamlined. But based on the fact the animation has improved, it still takes long even with a bigger team and more budget.

Also "funny" how the antis who whine about these kinda things also complain the loudest about "those poor artists"... They do realize they can't have it both ways, right!? You can't claim to care about the well-being of the artists working on an animated show while at the same time acting like there's not enough content fast enough. They're not even trying to be subtle about their true intentions.

I know I haven't even been here a year yet and we've have had at least some form of HB content every month since, so I don't have personal experience with the long waits/droughts, but I do have experience with it when it comes to other shows/movies, so it's not like I'm unfamiliar with the feeling.

But that's exactly it, no one is claiming HB is perfect and it's unfair to expect any show to be perfect, wheter indie or corporate. Even Viv herself has said she's okay with people critizing her shows (actual crisitsm, not those echo chamber whine sessions the antis are doing), she's just rightfully not okay with them bothering her team... Boy, that recent drama really is something.

And honestly, even if this was a corporate show, most issues/flaws wouldn't even be a dealbreaker for me, it's still that good. Heck, I'd argue it's better than most recent corporate shows.

The main thing HB can't keep up with is the amount of episodes (20 episodes in 4 years, while most corporate shows would've pumped out like 3 seasons with like 60-ish episodes total in that time), but that's also because the animation industry is overworked in general with really strict deadlines (and why so many people expect Viv to magically fix all that by herself is totally beyond me).

Anyway, I feel like I'm rambling and I just keep adding things to mention, so I'll just stop here...

[kdramaxoxo]

K-drama Drought...Or IS it?

Is there a k-drama drought, or are there less dramas to pick from in 2024?

Lately I've been feeling like there are no k-dramas to watch. I normally watch 4-6 AIRING k-dramas at a time (yes, I have a problem) and right now I am watching none. So I did a little search to see if there really ARE less k-dramas to choose from and from what I can gather, it's FACTS.

There are less k-dramas being made in 2024.

According to this article, last year there were 250 k-dramas produced but the shows were having trouble getting picked up by networks, so only about 150 made it onto the screen. This year? Only 40 k-dramas are slated to air for 2024 so far. That is a HUGE drop. And actors are having trouble getting work because there are less projects.

Time to hate on Netflix (my hobby)

You know I LOVE blaming the new streaming business model. You know, the one that churns through content, dropping whole shows just to get subscribers so they can tell their investors about "growth"? I'm guessing all of these larger companies (disney+, netflix, amazon prime) are creating a vaccuum because people are watching those over regular networks. The funding is probably just not there since there is so much competition.

Obviously I'm guessing and I'm not a data analyst, just a k-drama girlie missing all of her shows. But I always felt like netflix changing the landscape of television has it's cons and I think this is a major one.

I couldn't find any other articles to verify these numbers, but a few other ones talking about how netflix k-dramas aren't doing well (and by well they just mean they aren't "squid game" and in the top 10, and that's all these large companies care about. Because of that they are also putting out less k-dramas. It sucks because I miss all of my tiny low budget k-dramas and those will never make it in the netflix world, but they can't get picked up by networks now either.

I could keep going but I'm having FEELINGS. I just hope networks decide to make decisions apart from netflix and that netflix stops caring about k-dramas as much to make room for that.

[missbelindachandrabombs]

yesterday i started a personal long term activity that i like to call The Condensation Project. because i’m bringing The Cloud back down to earth. well, not quite. but what it does entail, is, prospectively, a physical archive of everything i have in every saved folder on social media (sadly you can’t print videos out, so i mean images and text) and/or screenshots.

i have long thought about the fact that all of our saved content is in fact immensely precarious. a nazi could report your account tomorrow and, because zuck’s team are nazi sympathisers, your whole archive would be just, poof, gone. social networks are ruled by cold-hearted oligarchs, all of them, technocrats who sell your data for profit. i hate the fact that all my favourite art, all my favourite memes and musings and poems and photos and songs and and and, are located on platforms owned by these tyrants, who have the ability to revoke our access to these materials at their whim.

i refuse to continue paying rent with my soul for the ability to look at artworks people haven’t posted anywhere else. so i’ve embarked on the (slow) task of cataloguing all my saved posts on instagram — there’s several thousand of them — saving them to the Compooter, pasting them into a google document, shuffling them around so that the largest possible amount of images can fit on 1 A4 page. google itself is run by the very same type of billionaire, so this is one temporary step on the road to freedom. what i’m going to do is Print Them Out.

by my estimate, it will total about 900 pages. i don’t know how much that will end up costing, but really i’m ready to sacrifice other areas of spending so i can splurge out on this. after printing, i will be cutting out every image individually, and gluing them into scrapbook(s, plural, i’ll probably go through at least 4); writing out every artist’s name next to it, copying out the instagram post’s caption too if it was exceptionally interesting.

i’m a very lazy person and a serial procrastinator so this will probably take me 5 months. after i’m done with the images, i’ll start writing out by hand the saved text-based posts that i want to preserve.

i don’t know much, but i do know one thing: the internet as we know it is going down in the next 3 years, 5ish if we’re lucky. other people can do the work of prepping for floods or droughts or other disasters, i’m preparing for the CULTURAL drought. i can deal with hunkering down in a bunker and eating beans from a can, but i can’t live without art, poetry, history. so that’s what i’m prioritising.

“just read books” okay, yeah, nobody’s discounting that. but not all the information in the world is contained within the pages of a book — a lot of it is up there, drifting in the Cloud, and nowhere else. i’m condensing it.

[jimin-bangtan]

Chameleon Park Jimin 6

My Chameleon Park Jimin (PJM) Series (<link) [Parts 1-5] discusses the emotional, physical, & professional growth, adjustments, and changes Jimin has endured and experienced during his BTS journey, as I see it.

In my earlier posts, I had explained how Jimin had become a lightning rod for widespread, unexplained hate and criticism. Prior to releasing his first solo album FACE, online posters would ridicule Jimin for not having many writing credits - and for many other reasons, whether true or not. During BTS's "hiatus", Jimin was about to unintentionally demolish yet another foolish argument against him.

When Jimin had realized he was feeling lost and going through some issues during the pandemic quarantine, he finally approached his bandmates and explained his distress. They told him they had already noticed his situation and were giving him space to sort it out. They also gave him the advice to put his feelings into music.

Jimin then reached out to PDogg, a veteran BigHit producer, to ask for assistance in locating songs.  PDogg, instead, suggested that Jimin work with an in-house team to write his own songs for his story.  Jimin agreed and thus created the unusually small, 4-member Smeraldo Garden Marching Band (SGMB) production team and eventually his 1st solo album FACE, which honestly and openly poured out his raw emotions of despair and triumph.

The Situation

I have mentioned in the past that Jimin had previously been more open and shared quite a bit online with fans. I have described how Jimin gradually withdrew from social media, likely due to the unexplained harassment he received pretty much continually. His fans understood his choice and his circumstances, but also missed hearing from him.  By this time, closer fans had learned that when Jimin was working, he was even less visible in person and on social media, which during the hiatus meant next to no contact.

During Jimin’s work silence, fans still put out requests for his appearance or communication in order to vent and to let Jimin know that he was missed. Fans comforted themselves by knowing that whatever new project he was working on would be interesting, surprising, and well worth the wait. Humor was one way that fans managed the “Jimin droughts” they were collectively enduring.

In spite of the lack of direct fan contact through social media, fans were very excited when Jimin was occasionally seen through other means during this time. In January of 2023, Jimin shocked everyone with the release of a song collaboration (Vibe) with the idol he had always admired and hoped to work. The idol in question is an OG KPop singer/dancer, Taeyang of Big Bang. The project was a success, giving both of them their first solo Hot100 chart appearances. But Jimin’s year ahead was action-packed, and there was more success to come.

Closer to the release of FACE, when Jimin was even busier preparing for his debut promotional performances, fans can thank Jung Kook (JK) for occasional glimpses of Jimin that I don’t think would have occurred otherwise. BTS members at times pop in each other’s chats during Live fan sessions for brief interactions. When JK was doing lengthy Lives early in 2023, Jimin would pop in to say hello. Even though the encounters were brief, fans were excited to have encountered Jimin at all.

Before and after Jimin’s FACE debut, he was also seen when supporting other friends’ or members’ projects or completing his own Dior and Tiffany & Co. ambassador obligations. Event photos and magazine layouts were published fairly frequently. The fans were so desperate for every Jimin appearance that the magazines sold out immediately, and his Paris fashion show attendance produced massive, record-breaking crowds.

After his FACE promotional period, Jimin was seen briefly when leaving and returning to Korea via Seoul’s airport, but the public wasn’t sure why. Now that his promotions were done, what could he be doing now?

The Analysis

During this time, when Jimin was seen in public, outside of work, he remained dressed in his new comfortable, baggier style, with his wardrobe often displaying clothing from his Dior ambassadorship. On occasion, he was seen at the enlistment day of his members, as well as friends, who had left before him.  Jimin often arrived in his new baggy clothes, bucket hat, cloth mask, and shaggy hair to see off his members and friends. Gone were the different hair colors and sleek cuts. No more were the fitted jeans and the dangling earrings as well as most other jewelry and accessories.

Later in the year, the company released Jimin’s FACE documentary [trailer]. [See my Jimin’s Production Diary post.] Each member had recorded the process of creating their solo albums, which was later cleverly released as additional material. Fans finally got to see what Jimin had been doing during those silent spans of time. Jimin’s documentary showed the personal process of Jimin deeply involved in creating, writing, & recording his own songs and lyrics.

Jimin was very pleased with the process and the products his team created. His transformation, from the difficult experiences explained in FACE, was showing itself in how relaxed and content he appeared while both preparing and performing his work. In the documentary and other behind the scenes footage [trailer], it could be seen that Jimin also displayed strong, but considerate, leadership while writing and producing songs as well as contributing to choreography [full]  and video direction [full].  In the past, Perfectionist Jimin did not seem comfortable with this type of exposure, and therefore it was rarely revealed or provided.

There was a time, I have explained, when Jimin was very hard on himself and spoke in rather negative terms about himself and his work.  His perfectionism caused him to never seem pleased with his efforts and his results, even if others thought his outputs were stellar.  All he had been through and all the difficulties and pain he had faced, both physically and emotionally, often came out in his words, but mostly toward himself.

Strangely, Jimin was commonly known as an energetic, enthusiastic, pleasant, & supportive person.  It seems that the entire process of facing himself and his issues really was transformative to his feelings and attitude about himself.  The peace he had achieved was now being seen all over his appearance, speech, attitude, and emotions. The current behind the scenes footage [full] shows an artist who is peaceful, light, confident, and happy. There was even a noticeable improvement from his 1st solo album presentations to what was later discovered to be his 2nd solo album work, even though the music for both was created at the same time.

In reading many comments about Jimin’s journey, there has been a good number of people who have stated that they aren’t pleased with how Jimin’s appearance and behavior have changed so much from the Jimin of the past to the Jimin we are seeing today. I also had to consider the changes I was observing, which was likely an inspiration for me to sort out my own thoughts in my writing. However, as I stated before, I came to the conclusion that the past Jimin might have looked colorful and stylish, but inside there had been anguish.

The anguish revealed itself with the tears, anger, or personal criticisms we had become accustomed to seeing on occasion. The current Jimin is happier, more relaxed, more positive, and appears more accepting and tolerant of himself. He also seems less concerned about some of the public’s negative thoughts about him, his work, or his decisions.

At first, Jimin’s new hiatus style was hit or miss, but in time, it improved to him looking very nice but very different from the Jimin of old. Still, as in the early days, Jimin is the member who has changed the most from his arrival at BigHit and from his early stage persona for both professional and personal reasons. That’s why even with the updated circumstances, he was still Chameleon Park Jimin to me at that time.  He was still changing, and I was still trying to figure out exactly who he was or if this was, in fact, the new normal for Jimin.

Perhaps he is still sorting that out as well, and perhaps the time in the military will play a part in his figuring out more of his real life and stage identities, whether they end up being two separate parts he displays when appropriate or one unified identity for both stage and life. With the hiatus period still in progress, more changes in Jimin were yet to be revealed in 2023 and 2024.

To be CONTINUED in Part 7: Vocal decisions, Tony Montana 2.0, Jimin's persistence…

[the-darkness-does-not-bargain]

Snippet 4, 1, 2, 3

She traversed the long hallway with grim determination, feeling like a soldier marching into a doomed battle.  Ser Criston walked at her back, silent and frowning, his dark eyes full of terrible pity.  

It was a pity mirrored in Ser Harrold’s face.  As they approached the double doors of the King’s chambers, she could see it even at a distance.  She hated it, wanted to scream and rage at them for it, but didn’t.  Her circumstances were not their fault.  They were at least sympathetic to her, unlike most, having stood witness to her plight for the past five years.  She couldn’t meet their eyes, however, requesting entry while fixed on the wood grain in front of her.

Viserys was inside, bent over his model as he could be found most nights.  He greeted her but didn’t immediately look up, leaving her to stand at one end of the table while he fiddled with a small ivory building.  In the corner, a fire crackled and danced in the hearth, raising the room’s temperature to a heinous degree.  Targaryens, she scoffed, sweating irately through her dress.  They’d live in the Dragonmont if they could, in the same caves as their stinking beasts.

“Are you well, my dear?”  Viserys asked absently.

“Yes, my love.  I simply wished to see how you fared after the long hours in court today.”  An act.  She didn’t have to ask to know how drained the King was by the time he left the throne room.  The Maesters insisted he was on the mend, that his wounds were finally closing and free of infection, but even the work of healing was exhausting to the body, and her husband had begged off all his afternoon appointments to rest.

“Oh, I am fine,” he said, finally glancing at her.  “Though it did drag on rather long today, didn’t it?  All these reports of drought and crop failure.  What were there?  10, 12?  I’m embarrassed to say they started to blend together.  They rather wear a man out after a certain point.”

Already growing tired of the charade, Alicent took a breath, put on her sweetest, most adoring expression, and approached her husband’s side.  “Can I do anything to ease your tiredness, my love?”  She stared at him meaningfully, stretching her mouth into a simpering smile.

“No, my dear, I will be well,” he said, turning back to the model and flatly ignoring her.  “Your attentions do me much good, but tonight I think I will retire early.”

She cast her gaze to the floor and clasped her hands together to prevent them from balling into fists.  She could not let him see her eyes burn at his thoughtless dismissal.  “Are you certain?  It brings me joy to assist you.  And I do not wish to be remiss in my duties.”  Please!  I ask you for nothing and give you all.  Just grant me this!

She didn’t even want to be here.  She wanted nothing from him but was forced to beg for it all the same.  “Thank you kindly, my sweet, but no.  I will release you to enjoy a night free of me.”

Mortification wasn’t a strong enough word for what she felt, staring at the polished stone floor.  Neither was rage.  “Well.  Good night then, Viserys.”  

“Good night, my dear.”  She could hear the door opening behind her, and wondered how long Criston and Harrold were listening in on her humiliation.  Wondered further if she could have them whipped for it.    

“Your Grace?”  She turned without acknowledging Criston’s question and marched out of the room.  Her face burned.  She refused to look at either knight as she retreated back into the hallway, only hearing armored feet fall in step behind her.  She didn’t stop until she stood alone in the center of her room.

“I will retire now, Ser Criston,” she said, each word clipped and barbed.

“As you say, my Queen.”  The door closed slowly behind her.

Her chambers were completely silent.  Not even the nighttime bustle of the city below seemed to penetrate the walls.  

She didn’t know how long she stood there before she lost the battle for composure, but lose it, she most certainly did.

All her septas’ lessons about respecting and honoring her husband flew out the window in an instant, followed by the fine porcelain vase that once sat on her side table.

How dare he!  That useless, good-for-nothing bastard.  Not satisfied with just the vase, she tore the blankets off her sofa and flung them across the room, before marching over to her heavy copper bathtub and shaking it by the rim like a feral beast, biting down on a shriek that would surely wake the whole Keep if she let it free.

She was the queen!  His queen, Gods damn him!  Apparently she was fine enough for him to marry, fine enough to use at his convenience, but when it was something she needed, he couldn’t be bothered with the one duty he owed her!

“Your Grace, are you alright?”  Criston's concerned voice sounded through the door.

“I am fine,” she bit out, white-knuckled fingers trembling.

“...Are you certain, Your Grace? I heard a commotion.”  He sounded uncertain, and like his hand was already on the latch.  By the Gods, was no man in this castle capable of listening when she said something?

“I am fine,” she repeated sternly.  “You need not come in, Ser.”  You can't give me what I need.  So leave me be.

Her savage mania passed at this interruption, however, sapping away that furious burst of energy.  Weakened, she collapsed to her knees in a heap, and leaned her forehead heavily against the tub.

She was truly alone, she realized.  She couldn’t rely on anyone.  Not her husband, not her father, not her loyal sworn shield.  Not even the Gods would intervene for her.

And if they were so resolute in their silence, then she would take the final option left to her.  The only person who would help her now was herself.

[henrysglock]

So with all of this recent discussion about Will stans there’s something I’m really curious about. In terms of the current Will/Byler subsection of stranger things fans and how… passionate they are, how might this group of fans be affected by the end of the series? Especially if things don’t go their way? (i.e. Will being the main focus or getting Eleven-esque powers, Byler becoming canon etc.)

Even if they get their perfect desired ending, do you think that they would continue to be so fixated and well, honestly aggressive about things like Will, Byler and their personal interpretations of the show? Or would they perhaps either mellow out or gloat about it to other fans? Would there be sustained, long term passion and intensity towards these aspects/views of the series and its characters?

And on the other hand, what if this subsection of the fanbase didn’t get their desired outcome for season five? Would there be denial? Or a reaction not unlike that of bbc Sherlock fans, with speculation of a secret, second final season or that there had to have been behind the scenes meddling as to why they did not get what they wanted? Would these fans consider the final season to be canon? Would they remain fans?

Sorry for such a long ask, I’m just curious about your thoughts on the viability of the Will/Byler fandoms remaining as they are now and how the ending of stranger things might shape these communities.

That's the thing, Nonnie. Putting my cunt face on for a second, but this fandom has been majorly disappointing. We go 2-3 years between seasons, and people complain about a drought. ByIer burned bright for about 1 year post-ST4, and then people were begging for new content. Girl you have 4 seasons to talk about!

So, even if they do get their perfect ending, the fandom is going to cannibalize within 5 years (if I'm being generous). They'd gloat initially, but they would get bored...and so would the rest of us, because their perfect ending is a flat, out-of-character cookie-cutter Disney sell-out conclusion that is, well, boring. If they don't get what they want, the fandom will cannibalize even faster, with people leaving in an "outrage" and doing nothing but bitching about "bad writing" (as if they didn't just make up a script in their heads, expecting the Duffers to follow that exact script).

I could see certain groups deciding not to take the final season as canon if they disagree with it, but remaining fans of the rest of the show. I could even see the people leaving in an "outrage" coming crawling back a few months later just like they did with the Noah situation. There would definitely be people blaming it on Netflix, but given the attitudes I've seen...they would be more likely to blame the Duffers. Which...sure. Whatever.

I think there will either be a slow death to the fandom by "okay, we got our sppon-fed MCU ending" or a fiery blaze of "this sucks and we hate it because we didn't get what we wanted" even if the season is phenomenal otherwise.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

16th February >> Mass Readings (USA)

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

(Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: C(I))

First Reading Jeremiah 17:5–8 Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings; blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.

Thus says the LORD:

Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth. Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 1:1–2, 3, 4, 6

R/ Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night.

R/ Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.

R/ Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. For the LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.

R/ Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16–20 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain.

Brothers and sisters: If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation Luke 6:23ab

Alleluia, alleluia. Rejoice and be glad; your reward will be great in heaven. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Luke 6:17, 20–26 Blessed are the poor. Woe to you who are rich.

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[blazeperalta]

in my josh and toby feelings today

anyone else have this weird soft spot for their relationship? I absolutely love all the dynamics on the show and although there are far greater (and by that i just mean “easier”) platonic friendships to enjoy while watching, those 2 make me ache more than any other.

I remember richard talking about his relationship with bradley on twww and how they’ve known each other so long so they’ve had their fair share of arguments/disagreements, and he said something like “I love him like a brother and i hate him like a brother” and it’s stuck with me because it describes josh and toby perfectly. And idk if it was meant to parallel their off-screen relationship (although i sincerely hope brad and richard’s relationship isn’t quite as antagonistic because i love this cast and want them to be friends forever lol), but I think about that quote every time i see toby and josh interact. They’re brothers who reluctantly love each other.

All this to say, it’s been over 4 years since i watched the west wing for the first time and i still haven’t been able to bring myself to rewatch drought conditions. The words they say to each other just wreck me and i genuinely tear up every time i think about it, and when I talk to someone else about it, I actually start to cry. I was furloughed, because covid, and was staying with my mum, and I just remember walking downstairs weeping telling her they had a huge fight. Again, i don’t really know why it made such an impact because it’s not like they were best friends and now they could barely even look at each other (i had plenty of that pain from josh and donna thank you!) there was always issues with them, but it was so difficult watching them be so cruel to each other, but *knowing* it comes from a place of hurt and there’s still so much love there.

[tojikai]

I just finished the “home” series, i just found your account yesterday yet all that’s left for me to read is “permanent mark”🙃

Like the “fix you” series, i ended up with alot of questions which is weird because i don’t have any for sundered but then again, im more of a toji girl

Questions:

- why did toji cheat?

- What happened in their marriage for it to get like that?

- did he ever truly fall out of love?

- do you have any plans for another story series?

- what would’ve happened if she hadn’t died?

- would’ve he regretted it or come back to her eventually?

- did he think of her daily after her death?

- how was he feeling after her death, years after?

- why did he put his mistress over his wife?

- Does he love his mistress more

- what’s up with the whole thing he did/him putting her over his wife

- what was his thought process when it first happened and after it kept happening

- ik he said he didn’t love hana but why would he cheat and basically put her over his wife if he didn’t?!?!

- i read 3 out of 4 stories so far and it seems like there a pattern of dudes putting someone they think they love yet don’t over someone they do or love more, is there any reason’s for it

Just me rambling about the story and your other stories:

I know he did but i hope toji suffers so so so much more until his last breath! (He did but I hope it felt like it was infinite for him😌) also Fuck hana! Wtf😭😭 if only toji didn’t fuck up bro its so sad, im hating yet understanding him?? If that makes sense, actually no not understanding but sympathetic towards him in the first ending ig but still fuck toji!!! I felt bad for him and then the next life chapter??? With his thoughts wtf and putting hana over y/n again😭 fuck toji!! he basically emotionally cheated if i was y/n i would’ve lefttt!! I swear your y/n’s are saints compared to me shhsjs

Your stories are so beautifully written yet so sad

I love them even if i might hate the love interest lol

Im More of the resentment type so it feels so silly to say this especially over a fanfic(but then again all of yours are so wonderfully written) but your stories i guess have made me possibly see things in a different light: like ppl do make mistakes and can change or genuinely regret them or that people can maybe hurt the people they love which is so weird for me to say because its a story and also im the type to refuse to believe you can love someone after you treated them so badly or cheated on them. Ig ur stories have made me realizes humans make mistakes and they aren’t BAD people for it butt the pppl they hurt doesn’t have to take them back nor forgive them or they can and it lean to something better than what would’ve been if they ended things

Note:

Im so sorry if im asking too much and i hope im not bothering you, i just tend to talk alot regarding things that i get invested in and i get so curious sbsjsj

Im probably writing this much because im so sleepy right now haha (my apologies especially if i wrote so much nonsense or I didn’t write/explain things wellh

thank you in advance if you answer 🫶i appreciate it, have a good day/night🖤i hope y enjoy the remaining of summer! Tysm for creating these masterpieces ‼️

hiii omg thanks so much, im glad that you enjoyed them <3

- to answer the first 3 questions: toji cheated bc he was bored. i have no excuses for this man in home series bc he really cheated bc their rs was getting a bit dull for him. do u know that point they say in some lovers' relationship. the drought, the feeling similar to "falling out of love" but they say not to leave your partner during this time bc that's when true love begins? yeah that. ��� he didn't really fell out of love but it's like a similar feeling to it.

- as for plans for another series, i'm thinking of doing a mini one. i have a draft here just waiting to be polished and published.

- if yn didn't die, hmm... assuming they stayed together, it's gonna be a very dead relationship. bc yn is so so tired. not just emotionally but mentally too. she's gonna have a hard time believing that toji still loves her even if he tried to explain. she's gonna be very reserved and visibly uncomfortable around him, thinking that he doesn't really want to be w her and just staying out of pity. she's gonna limit herself, and the love that she shows him. it will ultimately end in divorce, and he's gonna end up not wanting to sign it.

- yes, toji would've still regretted it even if yn didn't die. he's bound to come back to yn eventually. the day he left, he never planned on staying with his mistress for long. he just went there bc he was frustrated and he's trying to run away from yn's confrontation and the consequences. deep inside he was hoping that yn won't push through w the 'divorce.'

- for the 7th and 8th question, yes toji thought of yn every day and every night. the onyl time he's not thinking of her is when he's swarmed with work. but even during those times, his mind wanders to her still. the feeling that he felt when he learned of her death and discovered how she prepared everything for him and his new life was how he felt his whole life. it was never lessened. if anything it only got worse w time.

- for the 9th, 10th and 11th question: no, he didn't love his mistress more than yn. he left and put his mistress over his wife bc he thought that's what he wanted. there was a sense of thrill, the feeling of being with someone new that pushed him to act like that. as mentioned in the home series, his pride took over and he thought that that's the freedom that he wanted but it wasn't. it was too late when he realized that. you really don't know what you got until it's gone. he thought yn's gonna be there forever and that's why he kept choosing to go to his mistress not knowing that yn's days were numbered and that he's about to lose her.

- when he first cheated w her out of pure lust. there was no deeper meaning to it. and then it kept happening bc he found escape and thrill in it. other than that, she gives him a different type of attention, something new.

- w hana it was the attraction that made him act like that. im not saying all people, but some tend to be nice to attractive people and they don't even notice that to impress a new one, they end up neglecting another one. other than that, it's bc they work together. he doesn't plan on getting it on w her tho. he loves yn.

- i just like the thought of them making mistakes to learn from LMAO but i guess the difference is in fix you, his wife's dead. it's the lack of appreciation for the present and being stuck in the past. while in sundered, uhm it's a lot of pride and he did love Naomi tho. she was so good to him. (except that 'thing' she tried to do)

it makes me happy when people say they learn something from the content i put out🥺 the fact that you guys read my masterlist also makes me happy bc it makes me realize that literature really do make something immortal AAAAA i enjoyed reading this and answering your questions~ thank you so much for the love and support you give my stories <3 hope you're having a great week ~!!

[adriankyte-writes]

Lore Drop

Lore Drop

Tagged by @bagheerita and @chaniis-atlantis

Do you make your bed? No. It seems like a fairly stupid ritual to me. I'm the only person who sees it. I don't want to spend 5 to 10 minutes in the morning straightening it out, to then have to undo it when I'm going to bed. I tend to snug every blanket I own bundled on me, so "making the bed" is an ordeal.

Favorite number? 13

If you could go back to school, would you? I am considering it. Getting a masters could help me move up in my career a lot and I really enjoy going to school, as weird as that may sound. But I'm also at a point in my life where I'm taking a serious look at what I need to retire, and I'm wondering if I wouldn't rather focus my energy and funds on generating income streams.

Can you parallel park? Surprisingly, yes. I failed parallel parking both times I took my driving test, but years later I was attending college on a campus with limited parking. So I decided to give it a try to save me having to walk and what do you know I can. (Still don't much like to though.)

Do you think aliens are real? Yes. I think the universe is vast enough that it is arrogant to assume our planet is the only one capable of sustaining intelligent life. I also give fairies and cryptids the same consideration so take that with a grain of salt.

Can you drive a manual car? I understand the concept, in practice I was told that learning wrecks the transmission and the only person I knew who could wouldn't teach me unless I dropped the cash for a new one.

What’s your guilty pleasure? My big one right now is VR. I got introduced at a party and I'm absolutely hooked. Saved up for months to buy a headset.

Tattoos? 4, a dragonfly, kanji, crystal ball and a chibi grim reaper.

Favorite color? Purple, silver, black and blue

Do you like puzzles? Sometimes. I enjoy doing them, but my adhd makes it difficult to finish them, and then they make me feel guilty.

Any phobias? Crickets (thank you Texas drought/flood combo) and clowns (thank you Stephen King.)

Favorite childhood sport? Lightsaber duels. (I was not terribly popular at the religious academy where I spent my early education.) I actually spent quite a bit of time in private play/stimming and never really got the social aspects of sports down, and I hate playing most of the sports games. Oh wait. Archery is a sport. Definitely archery.

Do you talk to yourself? Yes. When I start answering myself it's a good indication that I need to engage in some socialization.

Tagging @leahnardo-da-veggie @idkaguyorsomething @chaos-monkeyy

and anyone else who wants to play

[bardic-inspo]

🍓🕯️🍄!!

Thank you, friend! 💜😊

[Writer's Truth or Dare Ask Game]

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

Roleplaying on proboards-style forum websites as a kid loose on the internet (for Warrior Cats, at first). I spun off into semi-original narrative writing from there, which I struggled on and off with for a number of years for a number of reasons. I did write a few DA fanfic snippets here and there, but mostly kept those to myself. I wasn't in a good life space to re-devote myself to creative writing again for while.

I think it was fall 2019 when I decided on a whim to break my writing drought by doing NaNoWriMo. I had just played Fallout 4, and fanfiction felt like a sort of "safe" way to break a writing drought, with established settings/characters. What came out of that November was the earliest draft of my Fallout 4 longfic, Bring the Gasoline. That's the only time I've done NaNo and I have mixed feelings about whether I'd do it again or not, but I think it's what I needed at the time.

That jump-started me, and I've sort of waxed and waned from that experience as far as, what frequency/volume of writing feels right at any given time with whatever else I got going on.

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

Hmm, 6 or maybe 7. I have a love-hate relationship with editing. I try to let myself be messy and repetitive and cliche or whatever in my rough drafts because I tend to have more faith in myself as an editor than a writer at times. And I do get a big sense of relief when the rough drafting is done, and the editing starts. But I'm also impatient, and editing up a messy draft takes time, and a lot of time, that means walking away and letting it sit and coming back with a clear head. I'm still working on that patience part more.

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

I keep thinking about that little bit they added to the epilogue scene, and Astarion making mooney eyes at Tav before/as they're waking up together. I've never stayed at the Elfsong in any of my playthroughs, so for me, I've imagined that as the first time Astarion and Tav went to sleep(trance)/woke up in a real bed together as opposed to a tent. And, for now at least, all the evil is vanquished. Cazador is gone. Astarion is safer than he's ever been in centuries.

And I see it just dawning on Astarion that he loves going to bed next to them and watching over them still at rest and getting to wake up beside each other. I think he's fascinated and just really moved by the sense of safety and love and comfort that those little moments have, he's stunned silly by it, and he just wants to savor them as much as he can. I think he cries happy tears a little bit about it that first time, while Tav's still resting.

From then on, Tav almost always wakes to find Astarion woke up first, and is watching them. Even if Stari isn't resting himself, he'll come sit by Tav when they do, and strokes their hair, or just sits close. I see him as a snuggler, too, once he lets himself have it. And he'll groan and grumble and try to get Tav to stay in bed with him as long as possible if they say it's time to get up.

[captainblou]

Once you get this, you have to say five things you like about yourself, publicly. Then you have to send this to ten of your favourite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool~)🌈🌈

Hi Angie!!

OK. So. I have received this in the past, by several other persons, and everytime I draft a post and delete it because I am a self-loathing mess and can't find FIVE things I like about myself. BUT NOT TODAY. So, apoligies to anyone who sent this to me before and didn't get an answer, it's not that I don't want to, it's just that it's really hard.

OK. Deep breath.

1 - I'm a good great cook (see the self-loathing here? I'm beating its ass). If you ever come to my house, you will be FED.

2 - I'm funny, I guess. I like to think that I am, in fact. I make myself laugh, there's at least that!

3 - I love that I'm still learning stuff about myself at 31, and that I'm able to accept those new things with ease. Fluidity is the way to life is my go-to quote and I'm glad I'm able to live by it.

That's 3. Is 3 OK? No? OMG...

4 - I love that I started writing again after a 15 year-long drought??

5 - I'm independant. It helps that I hate most people and social interactions, but I like that I don't NEED anyone to be happy.

See? Wasn't so hard! I can do that. 100%

Thank you so much Angie <3

[mermaidsirennikita]

Begging you for fated mates romances. The immortals after dark drought is killing me

Lol it's ruuuuffff. I'm excited for Rok's novella in March because he's just so fun, but I reeeeally hope she gets Kosmina's book out on schedule this year. (Lothaire literally just losing her remains one of the funniest things in the series to me. And her being this adorable angel princess and his inner monologue going "That's nice. I'm still sending your ass to Louisiana" simply because she's the Sandy to his Rizzo I guess??)

I genuinely want Kosmina's book, for one thing. For another, I NEED. KRISTOFF. AND FURIE'S. BOOK. And a book for Heath MacRieve: Werepire At Large, plsthx. You can't deploy a werepire without giving him someone to FUCK. You can't give me the brother of noted fuck machines Lachlain and Garreth MacRieve without giving me the ACTION.

Anyway, try:

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon. These are obviously like. As RIDIC as you've heard. They are also. DELIGHTFUL! Just broads landing on planet Blue Big Dick (CW: there are bad aliens in the first book and they do rape women largely offpage) and putting these weird little worms in their chests to live and the warms going "la la la" and then the big blue alien men having worms that go "tra la la" and when your worms sing to each other you gotta FUCK and be together forever like it or not??? He'll die for you and your worm???? Listen, I read like 6 in a row last year and then I had to stop and pretty soon I'm gonna read some fucking more.

Favorites include: Barbarian Alien (#2, heroine is all "Jesus Christ I hate this alien guy" and he's all "OMG IT'S HER" and kidnaps her away to his cave, as you do, which is controversial because he's from a noted line of kidnappers and the other aliens are all D: about it but then she teaches him how to fuck, should mention that most of these aliens are hardcore virgins), Barbarian Mine (#4, everyone who reads this is gonna think differently of me because the hero is like Ice Planet Tarzan because he grew up in the wastelands all alone and his dad died when he was young so he didn't even really learn how to talk like an alien, and he doesn't even VAGUELY know what sex is, and she has to.... teach him things........... the heart wants what it wants okay) and Barbarian's Mate (#6, the one where the heroine had an IUD the whole time so her chest worm wasn't working and then her IUD falls out and her chest worm is all "LA LA LA" at the most annoying, dickish alien's chest worm and they're both like "OH FUCK NO" but then they go on adventure together, and it's soooo good)

The Winter King by C.L. Wilson--Fun fact, the arranged marriage fantasy romance I keep recommending is actually a fated mates book! The hero isn't just Elsa But Hot Man, he's also descended from wolves, so he can SCENT her, and when he scents her for the first time it's actually quite aggressive and his friend is present and goes "buddy, please stop touching her nipple this seems like a crime". It's the mating bond!!!

The Sea King by C.L. Wilson--Next book in the series, goes fated mates even harder because the hero is a merman Aquaman type from a matriarchal kingdom who was trained in the seductive arts and meets the heroine and KNOWS lol. And he's determined to wife her up. CW: sexual assault, not from the hero.

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh--I've only read the first two books in this series, but they're good, and they're all following the fated mate format. This one is about a heroine who's from like this Vulcan sort of psychic mind freak society, and her fated mate turns out to be a verrrrrry earthy shapeshifter guy who's like "welp. Sadly it's her".

Laura Thalassa's Four Horsemen series has a very fated mate vibe. It's not explicitly stated, but all of the four horsemen basically get thrown off once they meet Her and then their entire game is ruined lmao. The series has some things.... I find.... Less than great. But I remember really enjoying Pestilence and Death, War and Famine are foggier to me.

The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson is omegaverse but make it a contemporary romcom. Full fated mates shit. He makes her call him alpha while he's plowing her in the woods. They live in a better society.

[burningblake]

Rules: list 10 of your childhood ships

tagged by meg / @charlottesmatthews 💜

tagging: @bookaholicthoughts @tisdae @the-maidofmischief @lizzybennets @robntunney @fireflyxrebel-writes @xwildangel @mauraeyk @matt-casey

1. Flor x Fede

My first otp ever, they shaped me. She fell first, he fell harder trope.

2. Flor x Max

Obviously I was devastated when Fede died and I wanted to hate Max with all my heart, but not only did I end up shipping it, I actually became obsessed with them. Also, rivals to lovers my beloved.

3. Caspian x Susan

Rip 12 year old me buying the book to read more content on them and finding out their romance was only movie-canon :') also hello my ben barnes crush.

4. Robin Hood x Marian

The amount of times I watched this movie isn't normal. My mom would find me in the morning playing the cassette over and over again. Another rivals to lovers.

5. Tristan x Yvaine

Same as above, but I owned a DVD of this one. So many rivals to lovers.

6. Edward x Bella

I won't apologize at all. I still ship them.

7. Anastasia x Dimitri

Rivals to lovers my beloved.

8. Sinbad x Marina

I often say my love for pirates started with potc, but in fact, sinbad walked so that jack sparrow could run and that's how it is.

9. Jack x Elizabeth

I mean I understand that realistically William was the better choice, but this was a fairytale, and therefore Elizabeth should have ended up with the man who gave her freedom, don't come at me please.

10. Sam x Austin

"It's like waiting for rain in this drought." <- one of the most epic lines.