#its more obvious in some photos i didnt include

[autistme]

Thursday dressed up as zombies for their Halloween show at Soma in San Diego, 2006. Photos from DA user ElectricFritz

[revolutionarywig]

Frev locations compile

Thought of compiling a list of frev significant locations so it can help with recommendations for anyone who happens to be travelling/visiting! This is only done to my knowledge and not a complete list, please feel free to suggest if you happen to know more locations that I completely missed!

so here is the frev pilgrimage list! Long post warning.

(Note: The items are not in any particular order)

(Note: I typed this post up a long time ago but couldn't finish, a lot of thanks to the people who helped out on contributing information and your patience with me.)

Musée Carnavalet (Paris)

This one is very obvious, it is a must go for seeing a collection of frev related artifacts and paintings, including Couthon’s wheelchair, Robespierre’s hair, the most iconic portraits etc. Also its FREE.

Panthéon (Paris)

You can see the statue of the National Convention deputies. It doesnt have too much related to frev directly, but Rousseau and Voltaire (and Carnot…..) are interred there

La Conciergerie (Paris)

If you want to see the Deseine bust of Robespierre, but cant go to Vizille, there is a copy of it here within Paris at the conciergerie. It is the place where most frev figures as well as Antoinette spent their last monents.

Musée des archives nationales (Paris)

(June 2023) There is a temporary exhibit featuring frev rn which I highly recommend (also its free to go so like GO)

But beyond the temporary exhibit, I believe there are still a few things in permanent collection (Robespierre’s note book page, Antoinette’s last letter in prison, Comte d’Artois’ letter etc), including the famous 9 thermidor table that Robespierre supposedly lied on. the museum is free to visit.

Père la Chaise (Paris)

@robespapier wrote a better post on navigating the cemetery. It helped me so much with finding the graves of Lebas, Elisabeth and Eleonore Duplay! Thank you so much for the guide!

Rue Saint Honoré (Paris)

the current address of the Duplays household is 398 rue saint-honoré, which is now next to a louboutin store…. There is a commemorative plaque there indicating Robespierre’s residence there. Im not sure about going inside the residence….There was construction when I visited and the door was open, heres how it looks on the inside.

SJ’s bust (Paris & Angers)

I have not visited either of the two locations yet, but you can find that white bust of Saint-Just (that seemed to be modelled after the pastel portrait in the Carnavalet) in either Petit Palais (Paris) or Galerie David d’Angers (Angers). @orpheusmori has posted some Petit Palais pictures here @robespapier has posted some Galerie David d'Angers pictures here

Marat sign (Paris)

i have an image of this plaque sitting on my phone, I forgot where it was located until @orpheusmori helped me track the location of it! It is in the Odéon area and should be in the small narrow street with the back side of Le Procope. It commemorates the location as an important area during the French Revolution as well as the place where Marat established his printing shop.

The front of the same building also has another Marat plaque! I didnt know about it before thank you @orpheusmori for finding and contributing the photo! This one is above an Jewellery store (Amour de Pierres) https://maps.app.goo.gl/8X9zgKYpMiLJcULq7

Olympe de Gouges sign (Paris)

Once again, i have a photo of the plaque proving its existence, but I took it years ago and i dont remember where it was exactly.... It was all in the Odéon area, it shouldn’t be too far from the other….

Danton statue (Paris)

there is a Danton statue! Right outside the Odéon metro! You cant miss it. Also the placement of the statue is where he once lived.

Procope (Paris)

Its a really old cafe frequented by a lot of philosophes as well as many frev figures. There is also a bicorn from Napoleon inside. Right now its still a restaurant establishment, and its difficult to visit unless you eat inside….which is expensive…. However ! This whole general Odéon area is full of other frev landmarks (some more mentioned below). Including the metro station which has a bust of Danton.

Versailles revolutionary room (Versailles)

Beyond the royal family, there is a room dedicated to a lot of major Revolutionary Army generals and battles. Theres that one painting of Lafayette if u into that

Musée des armes/Invalides (Paris)

It has a significant collection of military artefacts from the French Revolution and its a really good resource for armory researches. The museum also has a sword that belonged to Lafayette, as well as a sword belonging to Carnot during the Directoire (image below)

Louvre

The Louvre does not have a lot relating to the French Revolution but it has a few significant paintings and a lot of David’s work. One of the Death of Marat copies produced by David’s studio should be in the museum, as well as a painting featuring the battke of fleurus (with SJ cameo)

Tennis court (Versailles)

Near the palace of Versailles you can find the room where the deputies swore the famous oaths. It is free to enter, although last time I went it was undergoing construction, hopefully it should have finished by now.

Musée de la Révolution Française (Vizille)

If you can go to Vizille… GO TO VIZILLE! The easiest way by transport would be to stay at Grenoble then take one of the buses that runs between Grenoble and Vizille. It is a whole museum dedicated to the revolution (and it is free) and the park is really pretty. This is where you can find the statue of Marat,

The Deseine busts including dear Bonbon,

And DJ Saint-Just.

Also special thank you to @citizentaleo for taking me there, I would’ve otherwise been lost in the French mountains lol, thank you!

Maison Robespierre (Arras)

You can visit Robespierre’s residence in Arras. It is possible to visit the inside, but it has a very specific and short opening hours.

I wasn’t able to go in since I was only in Arras for a few hours….But I got to attend a conference by Hervé Leuwers aaa (He is very sweet and I learned quite few new things from the presentation, but thats post for another day)

Robespierre metro stop (Paris suburb)

There is in fact, a Robespierre metro station on line 9! Not much beyond name but at least some credit to him! Alas it is not exactly within Paris and just on the outskirt. (Oh and there is also Voltaire)

Cordeliers club (Paris)

I dont have much information on what happened to the original location of the Cordeliers club and how it was modified, but the location is part of the sorbonne campus now i believe. I'd be very curious if anyone knows more information on this.

Place de la Bastille (Paris)

The Bastille is of course not there anymore, but the ground around the square and including the metro stations near by have traces/marks of where the old prison would have stood.

(and yea the picture was taken during a manif)

Pavillon de flore (Paris)

The pavillon attached to the Louvre and next to the Pont Royale is the Pavillon de Flore, which is where the Committee de Salut Publique worked.

Jacobin club (Paris) Alas the original convent in which the Jacobin gathered is no more and replaced by a commercial centre instead (Passage de Jacobins) . There is a sign however recognizing the place for what it was.

Place de la Concorde (Paris) Originally Place de la Révolution, there is a plaque remembering the executions that took place here near the obelisk.

Maison SJ (Blérancourt) I have not been to Saint-Just's house yet, because it is very hard to commute there without a car. But it certainly is still there and (I believe) maintained by the Saint-Just Association.

Catacombs (Paris) According to wikipedia....The bone remains of many revolutionaries buried in Cimitière Errancis (which has a plaque indicating it in the 8th arrondissement, according to wikipedia) are transferred to the catacombs, including Robespierre, Danton, etc. The catacomb is roughly organized chronologically but there is obviously no sign indicating which bone it actually is.

Cluny La Sorbonne station (Paris) It is on metro line 10 and the waiting tunnel is decorated with signatures of prominent French figures. It doesn't have any actual frev artifacts, but it looks cool and you can spot Robespierre, Danton, and Camille Desmoulins' signatures on the ceiling.

Louis le Grand (Paris) The school that Robespierre attended is still under the same name and still in use as a school! (i've reached the image maximum alas i cannot add more images...)

And that is all I can think of so far! There is surely a lot more that are out there (including outside of France). Once again, please feel free to mention if you know more frev landmarks that I missed out on. And to whoever happens to be travelling I hope you find this list helpful to start with.

[rzyraffek]

Hey! It’s my birthday today, I was wondering if I could have some birthday headcanons for some slashers? Like what the boys would do on their s/o’s special day. Include your favs, I love them all! (Especially Otis he’s my pookie <3) Ty! 🖤🦇

Yoo happy happy birthday! Somone is a Taurus i see. Sadly I dont write for Otis :( but I can write for other slashers!

Ghostface

Mans will print whole album with their photos and maybe give them something shiny too. Like nice earrings or that necklace s/o was looking for everywhere. But hes top tier stalker so he totapny knows what's important to them so if they have any cool hobbies he will probably buy something from that topic for example you like painting? Boom brand new paints! You enjoy gardening? Yoo new pots just dropped

He wants to take them out to nice restaurant, later maybe watch a movie or something

It doesnt matter how he spends this night as far as s/o is happy with it really

To be honest im 100% sure he will trow a party if s/o is extroverted person! Music food and party hats!

Micheal Myers

This guy will walk up to them while they are calmly sleeping like lil bebi, grab them and drag them to kitchen. "Wha- Micheal it's way to early for dinne- S/o didnt finish cuz they saw huge cake on the table.

It was clearly stolen but untouched and pretty! With strawberries on top!

He didnt say anything he just 👁👁 very much so. Plase say nice things, the nearest cake shop is like 20minutes away he had to work so much for it.

He also will fallow them everywhere, like more than usually??

Jason Voorhees

Men will pick up any flower in 30meter radius and then give them all to them

Also he may catch a frog accidently and decide thats a great gift too

He tries his best to be good boyfriend/husband material🥰

He will try to make is as romantic as possible! Whatever s/o wants will happen today😈

Thomas Hewitt

My dude gonna be in kitchen since 6am cuz the breakfast he made has delightful AND he woke them up by brining it to bed?? Come one Thomas you are spoiling them

He will probably just make a lot of good food for them!

Also he decided to do huge step in their relationship and begged Luda to buy some ALIVE chickens. Now they have baby chimkens to raise on the farm how cute.

Asa Emory

This goofball had difficult time deciding what to give them😰

He wanted to give them some pretty moths or butterflys but he didnt want to make it obvious

But at the same time it would make a great gift? Like its very iconic for Asa to collect bugs so it would make sense to give them to his loved ones? Idk man he just wants them to by happy

He will buy some takeout food and eat it together while watching some animal planet stuff

Also he decided to give them some cute beatles🥰 (if s/o doenst like dead animals he acually bought lil glass box, plants and made acuall lil home for lil beatle buddies)

Sorry if it feels rushed i wanted to hurry up so you can read it on the day of ur b-day🥰

[freebooter4ever]

unrelated to the stick but have you seen cooking with geno?

Haaaaaaaaaaaa. I have :) i mean...what self respecting geno fangirl hasnt? If im honest i think it was the first thing with him that i watched, but i was not paying attention to him at all at all then. Aside from noticing that Fuck He's Exactly My Type If I Ever Had One and being very annoyed by it. My ADHD research spiral in the summer of 2022 went something like this: ra*ngers -> pana*rin -> russ*an red w*ngs -> larion*ov...and then i side tracked over to alyonka's mental health/ E*D*O videos, and then her podcast which also interviewd several hockey players including her brother (which are really interesting btw)...tldr i actually watched that video more curious about alyonka than geno, cause in her more current stuff she talks a lot about those early 2000's days and what it was like working in the league as a woman. Unfortunately for geno at that point the only thing i knew about him was that he was on the penguins and that he said some shit in one interview about bread, and i had already decided based on that and his instgrm that he looked like an asshole. I cannot find that interview quote about breadman, for all i know it could have all been made up, but it reaaaaally made me dislike him. So the first time i watched the video i was doing my best to ignore geno and pretend like he wasnt radiating attractiveness. My one conclusion about that video and a few other old pens videos with alyonka (and not geno but other players) i watched was that i was surprised how much more informal things used to be. She felt very casual and more like a friend to the players than the more professional style interviews i have seen while watching this stuff live now.

And if none of that research spiral makes sense just be grateful you dont have ADHD.

ANYWAY then lucky for geno he features in my favorite hockey photo ever - that one of him sitting on the boards with the snow and baby blue jersey. So i had to draw that photo, and then i started paying more attention to him that season, and watched that dan and sushi interview, and realized shit i might have been wrong about this guy. And maybe my change of heart only has a little to do with his Very Pretty Eyes.

And moooooonths (a year?) later i finally rewatched the cooking with geno video and had to basically admit that my initial gut instinct of Oh Shit He's Hot reaction remained the same. He's a terrible cook, somehow even worse than me which is saying something cause i'm really fucking bad at it myself. But his physicality/personality rather shines in the clip. (i have heard people say he was sexualizing or staring at alyonka??? It doesnt look like that to me, they just seemed very comfortable with one another and maybe a little teasing but im not the best at recognizing flirting etc). Young Geno's got that same confidence/swagger as old(er) geno that in most guys would come across as arrogant but with him it's very quiet and understated. He makes a lot of dumb jokes. Even on my second viewing i still didnt understand the basketball joke. He didn't talk much but there were a lot of shy smiles. He reminded me a lot of my old friend ethan in attitude and height - just like how he kind of awkwardly looms in the background at times, and how all his obvious strength is sort of soft in a gentle way. He also seemed like a guy very willing to listen, which was cute. But -and this might be me projecting. But sometimes when people try to 'teach' me how to cook i play dumb just so i can check out and not use my brain and let them do all the thinking and tell me exactly what i need to do. Its very lazy and i recognize this but sometimes my brain is tired. And i swear geno was maybe doing that to alyonka at times. Like i think his effort in the video was at most 70%. Maybe 50%. It takes one lazy cook to know another one. And i am a very lazy cook.

Sorry anon, ive been cleaning and working all day so you got more than you asked for, basically a character study, whoops.

Oh, also on the second rewatch i realized the weird short grimlin who only appeared to eat the food and then disappeared was tanger. I did NOT recognize him. I still cant really believe thats him.

[musubiki]

Mochi & Lime Lore/Overworld dump post

➞

- Mochi and lime live in an earth alternate, so like, humans, but not EARTH earth. still working on the name of the continent/region/world they're in, but its gonna be like a botw expansive map with a bunch of different climates and stuff all spread out

- it's probably also a modern-style monarchy. so their gonna have modern technology and stuff but its an excuse to maybe include a royal family (think hmc style ish??). but i don't think the story will delve into politics at all. let's just assume that the gov and economy is ok in this story LOL

- magic and fantasy creatures exist EVERYWHERE, but they hide from most humans and as a result mostly live in forests and such

- the power of magic came as a gift from the stars. the stars are like. i guess what people worship i guess?? so the stars are like the ‘gods��� here (i didnt wanna get into religion too much in this story either, but some plot-relevance will most likely involve some religion-like aspects like priests and whatever)

- technology was developed only because the power of magic essentially disapeared to humans. if witches were always integrated into society, tech probably wouldn’t be a thing

- witches are female only. at the origins of magic, it used to run in both sexes, but the only male with magic ability became insanely powerful and evil and the magic in males died with him. (big backstory, we dont have time to unpack that)

- there's an extensive history (same backstory) of witches not being accepted/feared in society despite being mostly human, so they live WITH humans, but don't expose themselves. 

- (the most valuable spell is the memory replacement spell, which works kind of like that app where you can erase whole people from photos. ie, it takes parts of the rest of your day or similar days to fill in the deleted memory with similar memories, so instead of seeing mochi battling it out with some masked dude, you think you just went to school and came home)

- witches in society caused a bunch of social problems. they had events similar to the salem witch trials and whole plagues started when a witch was discovered. (that crow-lookin plague mask WILL show up in this story i dont care. that shit looked cool and evil and i want it to show up)

- there are some witch ‘haven’ villages: small secluded villages that hide a witch or two within its walls, and don't get many visitors. these villages usually don't have much technology, as they rely on magic. (one of these places is the ocean village where Mochis grandmother lives, and another is where Mochis secret hideout is in the northern mountains)

- there are a bunch of urban legends of witches, bedtime stories, holiday tales, etc. but no one really believes they exist anymore. they just seem like cryptids or superstitions.

- the magical community power scale pretty much looks like this:

...with the cat at the top, followed by the crow/snake, then the spider/toad, and the rest of the witches are more of less equal in power, and then below that are the mages. the psuedo-magic is placed in its own box because it comes nowhere near true magic

- because of this power balance, all the ‘normal’ witches and mages are extremely jealous of the top five (sometimes theres even jealousy within the five)

- ‘mages’ are a broad term of magic users, which can range from humans, to fairies and mermaids. i think the familiars may fall into this catigory too, as they can use a small degree of protective magic.

- mages can be a lot of things, fire mages, water mages, ink mages, paper mages, etc. theres a LOT of them, mostly descending from ancestors who were given power by witches a long time ago, or maybe the offspring of a human and a spirit. long story short its a REALLY broad term.

- every witch, at some point during their magical maturity has to chose a successor. its usually their daughter, but not in every case. once their successor turns 15, together they conduct a ritual to begin the power transfer. (i havent decided if the ritual is when they get their familiar, or if theyre supposed to have them since birth?? probably the former)

- during the power transfer, the magical ability is slowly ‘drained’ from the old witch into the new witch over a period of time, usually about a year or so, and the old witch teaches and trains the new witch how to use magic and potions.

- however this is also the most dangerous time, because as the power slowly transfers, the old and new witches respective power levels are slowly decreasing and increasing respectively, and at the equilibrium (50/50 transfered) the strongest witches power roughly equates to the power of a normal witch 

- (which is especially a dangerous time, compared to say, at a 70/30 balance the old witch is still strong enough to defend the title)

- and due to the jealousy problem within the magic-user circle, this is the ideal time to steal the power of a witch. in Mochi’s case, the cat is highly sought after by other witches and mages, and because of this, cat witches are trained early on to be VERY good fighters, and usually have a few. like. ‘bodygaurds’ so to speak (ie. Lime)

- in rare cases, the power of psuedo-magic is enough to kill a witch at equilibrium as well

- if you kill a witch, all her magical affect on the world (potions, spells, cursed objects) disapears, and the power will either pass to the victor (if she dies by the hand of another witch/mage) or will return to the old witch (if she dies by accident)

- if a witch dies by accident, and she has no remaining female family, the familiar will wander the world in search of a new and worthy witch

- because of the female-only thing as well as the jealousy issue, witches try to only have one daughter, as to not deal with sibling jealousy. especially if they have a son first, and then a daughter, the boy usually sometimes ends up with resentment that they can’t have the same power

- a lot of witch-siblings end up joining the coattails

- for humor and story purposes, im making it so for some idiot reason no one else can figure out where Mochi lives and/or are too dumb to do the obvious plan of attacking her in her sleep or something. so they usually get attacked on the go.

- also maybe everyone understands that high school sucks enough as it is, so they also rarely attack during school hours

- every familiar is a different being, and they stay with their witch throughout their whole lives. they always retain the ability to talk, even after the witch no longer has the main power. after a witch dies, their familiar loses their voice, and either dies with them, or leaves to wander the earth forever

- after a witch loses her power to her successor, she can only do low-level magic and make potions (small levetation spells, foliage growth spells, etc. nothing big)

- there are also a lot of powerful spirits (they roughly fall into the mage catigory) that wander the earth and protect certain sacred places. a subcatogiry of spirits are the cosmic serpants, chinese dragon-looking things that rest in shrines and travel the skies during the night, bringing the elements with them (theres a cosmic wind serpant that protects the forest next to Oscars house, and its always pretty windy there)

- locals pray to the spirits for good weather, healthy crops, etc which the serpants are happy to give them with offerings

- theyre kind spirits, but also very firm and protective of their lands. if they sense any ill-willed trasspassers they WILL destroy them. they only reveal themselves when they want to, but most have mad respect for the witches. 

- mochi gives oscar a medalion with a witches seal so the spirits know not to fucking merk him on his ghost-hunting adventures

- another type of spirit are the forest gaurdians (like the little things in this picture) which care for the forests and animals there. they like oscar because he brings them little snackies like funyuns. 

- spirits are naturally attracted to magical energy, so when mochis around the spirit activity hikes up (que ominous wind gusts during spooky story telling at oscars house) 

- the 5 top witches are pretty well known throughout the magic/creature communities. even if Mochi hasn’t met them yet formally, her name travels fairly quickly that by the time she visits somewhere and introduces herself, they know shes the cat witch

- also, in the top 5, each witch kind of has their own little attributes that makes them, by nature, most suitable for their position. for Mochi, as the cat, she has the biggest heart (cares the most for people, has the most friends). the crow is has the most intellect, the spider is the most creative/detail oriented, etc.

- different regional areas grow rare ingredients, which most of them i will 100% make up since i dont know a lot about actual earth plants, so mochi and lime will travel to all different parts of the world for foraging. everyone kind of teases them about how ‘oooh youre just gonna live in this little city your whole life?? boring!! get out there!!’ and they just kinda look at each other 

[ellistruggle]

Memories

@thatsthat24 Pattons Room how I imagine it :)

Virgils Room / Logans Room / Romans Room

(more details under the cut)

at last, Pattons Room! i am really not satisfied with it but i dont know why so I might as well post it. My thoughts on that one were, it has to be colorful, and cozy and i hope i got that right. Also i really wanted to show Pattons Love for the others. and there are many references that he just, has so much love and dedication for the others. since we dont know the next sides yet, i didnt include them. i didnt want to make something up but be sure, if we would know them, there would be some dedication for them in this room as well. Just because Patton loves everyone =) so, are you ready for some CLOSE UPS! WOHOO

so imma put the photo wall here first. I wanted to have as many memories stored in this room as possible. i wanted to make every photo meaningful, deep, and a really big part of Thomas’ or the Sides past. But then i realized i just put too many photos in there for my limited artistic abilities and ended up scratching some ideas. You can see mostly pictures from Thomas’ instagram redrawn badly, some thumbnails or screenshots from videos, some motivational quotes and puns and a really big Poster of the four main sides and thomas =) i hope this works for you guys.

so. i asked which plushies Patton would have in his room. Many of you answered and i am really thankful for that! at that point tho most of the lineart was already finished and i didnt want to change up too much. so there are just a few plushies in the room. The blue teddy was a gift from Logan, to thank him for the comfy slippers. it is light blue with a little pink and Logan thought it would fit really good to Pattons aesthetic. 

the clock: since it is established, that patton has no problem staying up until 3am watching parks and rec i made this clock as far away from his bed as possible just so he has to get up to turn it off... it mostly doesnt work and patton still falls asleep after he turned it off.

The candle: you know how Virgil is probably most comfortable talking to Patton rather than the others. so in order to say thanks for the support Patton always gives him, Virgil gave him this purple candle, because the scent helps Virge to calm down and he thought it would be nice, because Patton seems to have some troubled feelings as well. you can tell Patton flipped out and will forever be thankful. (it smells of lavender)

Here are some books where i thought Patton would definitely have those in his room. the three blue ones are written by Logan. (from left to right: words you are using wrong, Why puns are bad, why 3am is a bad time)

the green thin book is his sketchbook, where he writes down why he feels bad, when he feels bad. a small puppet of Virgil guards this section of the shelf.

the others are pretty self explainatory =) ( from left to right: Dealing with fears, Dealing with non happy emotions, how to make gifts, Optimism)

under these, there are more books. From left to right:

Having a Blast with Roman (where he writes down the adventures he and Roman have every now and then)

Good Times with Deceit (another reminder that Patton has really much love for everyone)

Motivational Puns (gotta stay true to the branding)

Learning with Logan ( i think Patton is really eager to learn new things and Logan is glad to help)

Taking Care of Virgil ( i think that is self explainatory)

Logan lent Patton a book on Kant. He currently reads it before bed and a little puppet of Logan guards it. also there is a #1 Dad mug with milk for obvious reasons.

the box under the bed. thats where Patton stores extra paper for new motivaitonal posters and other crafts he makes for himself and the others. 

a winnie pooh plushie because its his favorite disney movie, a pink cat blob plushie and a green dog blob plushie on the right side... i needed more plushies for the room okay? (also @pipapatton pointed out, these remind her of cosmo and wanda =D it wasnt intentional but i let you interpret )

also a yellow snake plushie with a bowler hat for reasons.

here are more books. 

the purple one on the left: Caring 101 - this book is a guide for caring about a suffering friend . obviously patton wrote that one

perfect puns 101 - how to be the perfect dad (obvious)

Memories and how they work (to understand one of his functions better, yknow... with all the memories and stuff))

All about nostalgia

Moral Compass - Myth or Real? (probably a gift from Logan. to understand the basics of morality a bit better)

there is also the christmas gift from virgil on the nightstand.

a golden compass from Roman because he thought it was funny (moral compass and all)

the small golden book is where he wrote down gift ideas for the others.

the jar - okay so. everyday he gets a small paper and writes down one thing that made him happy on that day. let it be “ate a cookie” or “filmed a video” or just mundane things like “got out of bed earlier”. he then folds it and writes the number for the day on the backside and puts it in the jar. That helps him to stay positive and optimistic about the day. (i did this last year and it was really nice to think about the positive sides of the day rather than what went wrong, i can only recommend =) and i thought it fits in the room

also he has cat slippers for obvious reasons

his desk: its filled with crafting stuff such as crayons, stickers, scissors, washi tape and such. just to be able to make more posters and gifts for the others. a roman puppet guards the desk, so he can be more creative =)

also there is his diary.. i wonder whats written inside ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

here is a lion plushie to represent roman, a blue owl to represent Logan and a black Cat to represent Virgil. he always has these on his bed =)

THAT WAS IT PEOPLE !!! thank you soo so much for all the comments, support and reviews i got for these artworks. they really took forever to make and i hope i didnt disappoint =)

if you like my art and would like to support me, consider bying me a little coffee on my ko-fi page? if not, its totally fine =)

reblogs and comments are HIGHLY appreciated

taglist:

@lamp-calm-sanders @ultimate-queen-of-fandoms2 @xxashwiixx @davidthetraveler @eclectichedgehog @anxiousklutz @i-am-hughesless @missmashmain @romanasanders @aquilacalvitium @ziallwarrior @just-fic-me-up @angered-turtle @sanders-sides-thuri @pandagirl0730 @notalwaysthevillian @virgiliananxiety @alkimara @thesoftestlittlepuffball @grumpymoonbird @llamaavocado @angst-patton @pearls-of-patton @toujours-fidele @teacupfulofstarshine @mandeebobandee @praiseforphan @hopeful-gaming1205 @lostwithoutmyblogger-wink @owlish-lesbian-rebooted @wicked-delights @aaydence @roxiefox234 @book-of-charlie @bobolovesoze @punch-you-with-friendship @smearly-a-little-blog @wildheart49 @vigilantvirgil @mauvelavender @arentordinaryvillainsadorable @emilynoti @brileyluvsyoutube @shesavampirequeen @echomist13 @lydiaisstilessanchor 

i am sorry if i tagged anyone who didnt want to be tagged! also some people on my list couldnt be tagged (i am v sorry for this too) 

if you have questions, headcanons, stories or anything regarding these rooms, please let me know =)

[eichscrocs]

Hey now, You’re an All-Star

January 11, 2019

@ edmontonoilers: YESSSS! ⭐️ #LetsGoOilers

@ edmontonoilers: Leon with some love for the fans after today's #NHLAllStar news! #LetsGoOilers

When Connor heard the news he was beyond thrilled, his 'liney' Leon was going to All Star too.

@ mcdavid97: All-Star bound with 29! 👊

Surely Connor had gone years previous, but none of them had included another one of his teammates, let alone the one he was dating. Connor liked to keep his life private for the most part, which included Leon too. Media was beginning to become suspicious, but in all honesty neither boy seemed to really care that much anymore. It was going to be a first time for the both of them; Leons first all star, and Connors first all star with his boyfriend. Surely a big reason Leon got voted in was Connors endless support, and maybe for the fact Connor had his whole family (distant relatives included) voting multiple times daily for him, but Leon didn't need to know that.

The beginning of the 2019 season did start out a little rough, so the break would be good for the both of them (besides the fact Connor managed to get Chia fired, but that's besides the point). The Oilers organization had known about the two boys relationship, and everyone was so supportive, especially Nuge who had been the reason they got together in the first place. In the locker room it was even the on going joke, and Ryan was often referred to as 'Ryan Love Whisperer Hopkins'. Connor and Leon enjoyed any privacy they got so the organization was surprised when the two had told them that they wanted to let everyone know they were together, but a little more subtle since both boys were quite reserved.

January 24, 2019

@ edmontonoilers: The dynamic duo had officially arrived in San Jose! #NHLAllStar #LetsGoOilers

If Connor and Leon could agree on one thing it'd be the all star jerseys, they color black was extremely flattering, but they wouldn't be wearing those jerseys until tomorrow. After all today was the skills competition, they'd be sporting the classic orange Oilers jersey. Connor was the first of them to compete, to no one's surprise it was his third year in a row competing for the fastest skater title. Why? Because other than Dylan Larkin (who wasn't voted in) he truly was a speedster. Leon sat on the bench chilling and taking in his new surroundings. HI heart was so full and slightly filled with nerves of watching his boy get ready to skate. From how the event was beginning to unfold his only threat to steal the title from him was Jack Eichel. Seeing Connor on the ice made his little heart flutter.

Connor had taken off just like that and Leon instantly zone in to watching him skate his lap. His skate was over just as fast as it had started, and sure enough Connor took the three-peat. Leon stayed sat on the bench smiling even wider than before. Media ended up in his face and questioned him about Connors pace. Leon would be lying if he said he didn’t wish they were going to ask about their relationship. So he figured clue number two, drop a hint. So Leon turned to face the camera for all to view on instagram, his english flowing perfectly. “I had and idea that he’s pretty fast so, uhm ya know obviously last year I think he won it, so it was uh ya know I had my money on him.” Leon finished off saying while a slight smile arose on his face.

After Connors event both boys were able to relax for a little, as puck control was the next event. Connor shoved his way in the box to sit with the rest of the Pacific division boys, but more importantly next to Leon. “You did so well out there.” Leon said then bumped shoulders with him. Connor schooched closer to Leon (if that was even possible) and his body was pressed right against Leon from shoulders to skates. He rested his one hand on his knee while Leon decided to put his hand directly half on Connors and half on his own retrospective kneecap. Leon looked over at him again and smiled, then turned back to watch the event infront of him. Nobody seemed to ask about it; whether they didn’t care, couldn’t see it, or already knew (Leon doubted the third one though).

As it got closer to Leons turn for premier passing he got more anxious. He didn’t want to dissapoint himself, the fans that voted him in, and most importantly Connor. Leon had to leave his warm encounter with his boy to get ready to go. Connor stayed on the bench watching in awe at his boyfriend, the way Leon made the pucks into the minature nets with such little effort was really no surprise. Since Leon joined the Oilers organiztion he had been giving those types of passes to Connor. Even before McDrai happened they had sucah a remarkable chemistry. (Why was Connor now suddenly realizing that Ryan is super good at reading into love?). When Leons last puck went into the net, the time stopped and Leon looked over and started skating back towards the bench where Connor was. Leon didn’t look at what his time was, but he knew it had to be good when he saw Connor smiling and clapping his mitts together for him. Finally Leon’s competition had ended too, and he managed to stay on top, claiming the win. The closer he got to Connor the happier he was. Connor was sitting looking sky chewing his gum, not to forget the fact he was checking Leon out from head to toe. That all star champ was his. For the remainder of the competition boys the boys were just fooling around with each other. Both had adrenaline running high from their wins. The start of this weekend was a good one, and eventually they hit the locker room to suit back up for media.

Connor had anticipated questions about the Oilers and his captaincy, but his personal favorite was when someone had asked about Leons performance. “That was awesome! That was an event that was tough. Really really tough and Leon I know was a little bit nervous.” Connor began to answer. Since he had heard from Leon still nobody had realized they were an item, he knew he’d have a little fun hyping Leon up. “I ket saying you’re one of the best passers in the game you could easily do it. And he proved that tonight.” Connor said lovingly about his teammate and boyfriend (which the media still couldn’t seem to pick up, which was surprising).

Finally day one was in the books and both began to head to the hotel to rest for the night. Although they’d be staying in the same room together, a king size bed all theirs. After all they were both hockey boys who needed enough space for cuddles. Connor’s room was rendered useless, they’d be using Leon’s room instead. Not that it mattered too much anyways, Connor had the salary to make useless purchases like his hotel room that would remain empty all three days in San Jose. Both boys began to take off their suits and put them on hangers. Even with salaries like they have, both Leon and Connor hated spending so much time finding a suit they liked, only for it to cost more than they ever would have typically spent (it was a suit, why must they cost so much?). No way were they going to ruin them only to go through suit hell once again. Leon was the first to get changed out of his suit, and he head to the luggage to find some clothes for bed. Leon put on some plaid pj pants with pockets, along with an old oilers shirt (which wasn’t his). He had taken a seat while Connor was still getting ready for bed. Connor put on Oilers pj pants that Leon orginally got for him as a gag gift, but no surprise Connor loved them so much. Paired with his Oilers pants was one of Leon’s shirts. Leon looked up from his phone and saw Connor looking adoarble, his hair still looking freshly cut.

In fact Leon was the actual reason his hiar was cut in the first place, and it wasn’t because Leon liked it short, hed just told Connor it’d be funny to see media have a hay day. And anyways Connor loves seeing Leon laugh, so his answer was obvious, he had to do it. He took a seat right on top of Leon crushing him, and laughing as Leon went wide eyed and stuttered out “Oh well hello to you too” while lightly laughing. “What are you looking at?” Connor asked as Leon was looking down on his phone. “Figuring out which picture of us to put on insta.” he replied while turning his phone to Connor to look at the pictures. Leon continued to swipe through the photos until Connor pointed out a good one. “Post that one” Connor suggested. Despite Connor hardly posting on his accounts he knew when a picture was good, and that was definitely it. Leo opened Instagram and selected the picture Connor suggested. “Should I add a filter?” Leon asked seriously. Connor thought the photo was fine as it was, but the temptation was way too high. Leon had seen a yellow tinted filter, “Con! This filter would look sick!” Leon said while showing Connor the result. To Leon’s dismay he was given the ‘are you actually joking me right now?’ look. “I think it looks good, especially you so I’m posting it.” Leon told Connor. Connor put his hands up as to say ‘I’m not stopping you’. “Oh I have the perfect caption too!” He said excitedly as he began to type it out. It was the best usage of 27 letters in his life, all for one small post.

@ drat_29: Great day at the skills comp with @ mcdavid97

“Alright it’s posted” he said to Connor as he locked his phone and placed it on the nightstand. Both boys then opened the bed to go to sleep for the next days fun games. Of course they couldn’t go to bed without Connor claiming his little spoon position. “Ich liebe dich.” Leon mumbled to Connor as he drifted to sleep holding the one he loved the most in his arms.

[troubleisfree]

this is going to be like a very long, detailed, and mostly my personal observations and notes. as it was my first time seeing neymar and the brazil nt in person, i want to remember everything i can while its still fresh. it was a very exciting and at the same time surreal experience because i see those people all the time on tv games and now there they were few feet away from me...

i took the photos and videos. i am usually pretty good at that but i guess the excitement got the better of me because they did not come out fabulous. tumblr is being stupid with not letting me upload more then one video in a post, and i wanted everything together, so i ended up putting them up on youtube.

the hotel 9/3/2018.

so first i went to the hotel (very close to where i live) on monday 9/3. as it was labor day, i was off work and at a bbq/pool party abt 10 miles from home for the day. brazil nt was scheduled to leave the hotel for their first training at 4pm so i left the party early and, after some traffic drama, made it to the hotel little after 3.40pm. there were not too many people so i had a decent view but i also moved around a bit. some of the support staff was coming out already. a few minutes later, firmino was the first i saw, he waved and went straight to the bus.

then a group of marquinhos, douglas costa, fabinho etc came out together. only marquinhos paid any attention to the fans, waving and smiling but didnt stop.

then another group, including casemiro.

then alisson came out. he was really sweet, smiled, stopped with the fans, signed stuff. interacted the most of anyone else with the fans. 

then another group - i think richarlison (idk him really), filipe luis, thiago silva. thiago was just as nice as alisson, stopped with the fans, signed stuff. he looked to me a bit shorter irl then on tv...

willian came out alone next.

at this point, it was almost 4pm, my excitement had totally built up and i was so anxious to see my boy ney. i started thinking that maybe he will get there separately cuz i hadnt seen coutinho and tite either. but there he was! coming out last with barely a minute to spare before 4pm (the timestamp on my photo is 3:58:59pm lol). he was the very last one to come out, chewing on something, with his typical swagger. he waved but didnt stop and the bus left as soon as he got on. he looked just as hot in person as on tv, the cameras dont lie lol. really handsome and very very sexy! i mean, i expected it, i have seen his photos lol but omg he looks so damn good you cant help those dirty thoughts! i felt like an absolute fangirl! this is neither here or there, but he looked to me a little bigger then i expected. just kinda...fuller?

i only took one photo of him cuz i wanted to look at him with my own eyes rather than thru the camera ;)

it was such an incredible experience seeing neymar and the rest of the guys in person so close that i was shaking after! like for real my hands were shaking, my legs were shaking. and i couldnt stop grinning for a good half an hour after. i went to the boardwalk to calm down a bit and just absorb the experience. people passing by probably thought im crazy or reading love letters on my phone or something cuz i just couldnt stop grinning but i didnt give a flying fuck what they were thinking - i had just seen neymar!

my notes and impressions:

1. OMFG I SAW NEYMAR FROM FEW FEET AWAY. just that, my brain was really way too frazzled to process any other impressions lol

the game 9/7/2018

so after some c. drama, despite my initial hopes, i had accepted that i am not going to go to the game. and then the day before i find out I AM GOING!!! i was so freaked out with excitement lol!!!

getting there was so frustrating! first i had forgot to charge my phone before leaving work so i only had like 30% which was nowhere near good enough for my plans of copious pics and vids. so i had to run into a bodega to buy a charger for the car. then for some complicated reason we had to leave from the ues and fucking DRIVE. crosstown. on a friday. at 6pm. straight thru freakin time square with its gazillion tourists. on top of rush hour. even though the schedule said 8pm, the tickets said the event starts at 7.30 and i wanted to be there early to see the warmups and at 7.02 we were still not even inside lincoln tunnel ffs! i was FUMING and ready to jump outta the car and start yelling at the other cars to get a goddamn fucking move on i got places to be people to see! just ugh. so frustrating. the only upside of taking so long to get to the stadium was that by the time we got there my phone was almost 100%...

anyway, finally at 7.25pm we got there and thru all the checks etc (my joke of a miniature purse was shown as an example to another girl with a slightly bigger purse and praised by security for being perfect size which pissed me off because of their dumbass rules it had is smaller then my regular WALLET ffs and it barely even fits my phone so in no way is it a ‘perfect size’ except maybe for dolls or tiny aliens. but they had the stupid clear bag / tiny purse rule in effect and all i cared at that point was getting in so whatever. still, fucking terrorists. obviously also for more important reasons than just being the cause of my having to have a tiny purse but yeah fucking terrorists). 

the stadium was buzzing already. apparently the 7.30 start was for the warmups so perfect for me. this was the view from our seats.

when we got to our seats, the usa team was out already. and the canarinho was interacting with fans. and then brazil came out. 

ney was warming up with coutinho

after stretches, he did some practice shooting. this one didnt go in.

after that the team went back inside and the canarinho came behind the barriers to interact with the fans (photo below especially taken for a.)

time for the teams to come out. for some reason the tunnel was on my side of the stadium but the benches were on the other side and they lined up there for the anthems. (again, for a.)

then the us anthem and, since we dont do things here on a small scale, the flag rolled out was the size of the whole stadium lol

in the first half neymar was playing in front of me. in the beginning of the game i took a few photos and then i stopped because i wanted to watch the game and see with my own eyes not concentrate on the phone... still, here they are

here is the penalty. i didnt catch it go in because i was looking at it happening rather then my phone. i also removed the sound cuz there was screaming when it went in lol. it was a VERY soft penalty btw...

my notes and impressions:

1. it was a friendly so not surprisingly, it was not an edge-of-your-seat game. still brazil dominated the crap out of the usa team. the difference in class and quality was glaringly obvious.

2. it was strange not supporting my country’s team. but only when i thought about it. otherwise my soccering heart belongs to brazil 100%, without a doubt.

3. watching a game live vs tv: both have pros and cons. again, after watching every week on tv, seeing these guys live in person is simply incredible. just absolutely surreal. like, they are moving, running, kicking right in front of you. you can hear the ball being kicked. feel the tension. see what they are doing without the ball. watch their interactions away from the camera. feel the power of the crowd. its just so much more immersive. at the same time, watching at home the curated game content is... convenient. you get closeups. you get facts from the commentators. your bathroom is nearby (i did carefully time my liquid intake that day to avoid venturing into stadium bathrooms and thank god it worked lol). so imo, watching a game on tv is not really that much worse then watching it live. i always felt like i am getting a completely filtered version on tv and it is filtered but it is not horrible. yes, you are missing out on stuff but its not a total loss.

4. the stadium was about 40% full, 32k of 82k capacity. but it felt more like 2/3, probably because on the other side many sections were not even open so most everyone attending was spread out in one long side and the two goal sides.

5. brazil fans were out strong! i’d say about 70% of the people were brazil fans, and of those about 90% had on brazil jerseys. yellow galore lol. the usa fans were constantly chanting but when the brazil fans decided to make the effort they drowned them out easily and completely!

6. the usa fans were in the section behind one of the goals. throughout most of the game i thought oh cute they are constantly singing their hearts out supporting their clearly outplayed loosing team. then they did iceland’s viking chant. yes, it is a cool chant but its iceland’s. idk why so many have been plagiarizing it! first portugal did it in the wc, then i saw another, and now the american outlaws (the usa ultras)... let iceland have its thing people. i did not appreciate it but no big deal. BUT then they did something that pissed me off - few minutes before neymar was substituted in the 80 min they chanted fuck neymar. i was not best pleased to say the least! lick sweaty balls jealous motherfuckers!

7. we did a wave that went around the stadium like 4 times!

8. there was a small group of 13-14yo girls right behind us that whenever ney touched the ball or looked our way screamed ‘neymaaaarrr, neymaaaaarrrrrrrr, vaiiiiiii, vai neymaaaaaaarrrrrrrr’. one girl in particular was especially shrill and vociferous in her dedication to ney. no sense of decorum whatsoever lol. my bf was smirking at me and was like why dont you go sit with them. i on the other hand was thinking that while i wouldnt go sit with them, if some of my tumblr girls were here.... well those girls wouldnt even know what hit them!

9. i would definitely go to a game again! 

10. while the seats we had were really good, i wish there was an option to be even closer and still see the whole pitch. then again, for me it would probably only qualify as ‘close enough’ if im allowed to run along the sidelines lol. but then i wont really be able to watch the game. (hey maybe i can hang from the skycam hahaaaa!). yes, i am a neymar fan but i am also a fan of the game so i want both. i did not have any input in the choice of these seats but i think it was a good trade off - the closest where you can both see the guys and actual game. if i have to pick the tickets for the next game (hopefully i will go again some time!), i would be tempted by the lower levels but the barriers are pretty high so... i would probably go for the same - second level first row.

11. there was a guy sitting next to me with his date and he was trying to be all knowledgeable and impress the girl but half the stuff he was telling her was wrong lol! he kept pointing to douglas costa and telling her its firmino. i was cracking myself up listening to him talk complete bullshit but with such grand authority about technical game stuff.

12. at some point a loose ball ended up into the stands, some guy caught it, and 2 min later security came to take it away from him :/ why not let the guy just keep the ball?!? stupid. if it was me, i’d have made a fuss, maybe pretended that it hit me in the face and threatened to sue the stadium cuz they have not ensured the spectators’ safety or some such crap lol. see if they dont let me keep it to avoid a lawsuit.

13. the canarinho (for a.) - he was really great! interacting with the fans, dancing, hugging fans. really a fantastic mascot and absolute joy to watch! during the halftime he was out on the pitch, doing keepie uppies (in those shoes too!!! showing his brazilianness lol), and kicking balls into the stands

14. i was totally impressed by neymar. it was just so obvious how good he is and no, not because i am biased, which i admittedly am. i expected him to be good, duh, but to see it so clearly was amazing. he is not a fluke, he is the real deal. he stands out among even such quality peers as the rest of brazil nt! just something in the way he interacts with the ball, the way he moves, ‘sees’ his teammates without looking, turns on a dime, does the unexpected. i dont think he ‘thinks’ or ‘calculates’ at all his moves or that it is just a lot of practice, i think it is pure instinct in the moment, i.e. phenomenal natural talent. even though this was not one of his greatest games for sure, he just looked... special and different from the rest. most of the brazil players were displaying their clearly high quality but there is just something unique in the way neymar plays. even if you dont know who he is, what teams are playing, anything at all, you’d still pick him out and know that there is something extraordinary about this guy. if you unfocus your eyes so you see just all same yellow shirt figures, you would still be able to pick out which one is neymar. he did a bit of his skills and tricks and of course i wished he had done more. what i took away from watching him play live was that, in this average game, he looked as good playing live as he has in the past when i have watched his great games on tv. i dont know why. but watching neymar play live was an experience of its own. it felt like his average ‘live’ performance is as good as his great ‘tv’. i cant even imagine what it would be like watching one of his great performances live. while i dont feel im loosing so much watching games on tv vs live as mentioned above, i definitely feel that watching neymar in particular play live is on another level and im missing out when i watch him on tv instead of live. he is absolutely worth the price of admission. i was so disappointed in him for his wc antics but thats in the past now, and i have been reminded how right it feels to be his fan, not just for the nice things he does for kids/charity, his fun personality (and lets not forget the good looks, and oh boy they are SO GOOD lol) but his undeniably outstanding talent on the pitch. his game is just incredible. i hope he keeps healthy. i hope he gets his temper under control not just for a few games but for good. and i pray he always has the freedom to shine like he rightfully can. i am rooting for him to get the appreciation and acknowledgement he deserves, unadulterated by behavioral issues or personal drama.

ok, imma stop now. this post is huge, even by my standards. 

[chl0ks-art-world]

Monday 26th September

so today was our first day back on campus for second year.

we started the day by installing our summer projects into our studio spaces in the morning and then exchanged group critical analyses about our pieces with each other in the afternoon. below, you can see my pieces that i worked on over the summer. our summer project enlisted us to visit the tate modern art gallery in london and then we were encouraged to recreate some art inspired by an artist that we found there.

I was really inspired by Gerhard Richter and his Cage paintings. I loved the fact that he listened to specific music whilst painting them as well as the method in which they were created with the squeegee across the surface.

I wanted to interpret these facts into my own work but put my own twist on them with my prefered colour pallette and music that fueled them.

I love experimenting with mark making so i used a variety of pallet knifes, rulers, and smaller implements like a blunt pencil to create different textures in the works. i worked on many pieces at once in very quick succession which was probably caused by the type of music i was listening to at the time.

Back to when i was installing my pieces, Veronika suggested that the work ‘commanded a lot of room’ and said that they worked best spread apart from each other. I was really hesitant to at first because i am very self deprecating and modest and didn't feel the works deserved to be so greedy with space. eventually after a lot of moving about of pieces and nails placed and replaced, i came around to the idea. the photos below are how they eventually stayed.

i have also included pics of my crit sheet. i must say im rather underwhelmed by the feedback i received. its not too constructive and rather too kind and safe. but i haven’t interacted much with these classmates and maybe they are just too shy with me atm. 

now i will answer the questions at the bottom of the sheet, i have marked them with numbers to save me having to retype them out. (dyslexia is really fun)

1. As above, i am very underwhelmed by the feedback, that’s not to say there isn’t ideas i can be working with here but i would’ve liked a bit more, be it negative or positive. i really like the idea of adding more texture to my paintings. i’m thinking about combing some paint with sand and other materials. i’ve said previously how i enjoy sewing and fabrics so i think it is an obvious progression.

2. I think they did understand what the work was about. 

3. I was surprised that they said they would save all elements of the work if it were to be in a fire. this was the main item that made me disapointed because i was hoping for something more constructive that i could work with more than “nothing because its beautiful” then again, you can see i didnt really answer the above question.. maybe because it doesnt have a particular agenda and is intended to just ‘look nice’ and therefore there is nothing to not understand.

4.I agreed with all their observations. i wouldve liked to view the work closer together just to see how different it would look compared to how veronika suggested it sit. i loved the idea of adding more texture.

5.If i had more time and money i would make a bigger piece more akin to Richters scale. last year obviously i painted my studio wall space but obviously i would enjoy painting even bigger than that. and adding more texture.

6. the aspect of the research that was most useful to making my pieces was listening to specific music/ genre of music whilst painting. this created a cohesive mood and gave the paintings the same vibe.

[unsp0ken-details]

Moments to Cherish (2)

"Its so funny how so much of 'Finding Yourself' in adulthood is simply getting back to who you were and what you loved as a child" I've often thought about this and a part of me believes in this. As one grows over the years, we are exposed to more complex truths of lives, newer experiences, and live in the 'grey' - we go on a little quest to 'find ourselves': our true interests, what makes us happy, gives us true joy etc. In agreement with the statement, one of the places to find that is our childhood. Childhood: to the times where we loved, experimented, experienced, indulged without reason all while we were yet to discover the meaning of 'regret' and before applying the concept of 'overthinking'. One of my 'Happy Places' to be when I'm particularly in a thoughtful mood is thinking about my childhood memories. The things my friends and I did in school, Aadarsh's new antics, things I gave importance to, tactics which I thought made me smarter than my parents and so much more! I'd like to write about a few of them in no particular order: 1) I always liked have long hair. However, I didn't know the difference between straight/wavy/curly hair. I remember an image I saw on a magazine of a girl much younger than me (I was in grade 6 or 7 at the time) and she had a particular hairband that I wanted to pull of that look. Since I'd wash hair on Sat's I remember, getting that magazine, and wearing a black hairband with dots (the one I bought) and making sure I wore in how it was shown in the picture and feeling proud and waiting to pull it off better to achieve the length of hair she had in that photo. 2) 9 years of my formal education was in India and a majority of it included memorisation when it came to tests and exams. For the most part since childhood, I've studied alone but there were the few times I would go to Amma when I couldn't memorise a long answer. Having her simply read out the answer and break it into parts would make it SO much easier for me to learn (the part I'm conveniently skipping here is that they also involved crying if she decided to test me on other questions..) but nevertheless the end result was that I always hoped for this question to come in the exam as I was the best prepared. 3) "I don't care". I can't pin point exactly where I picked that up from when I was younger, but it was a brief phase where if anyone said anything/commented, I'd respond I don't care. Never to be rude, but I thought that's how it is used. However, a quick full stop on that phase came when I saw that my younger brother was picking up on it. Anything you ask him/commented, his reply was I don't care. The effect of this stayed with me for long, I have after that never used that phrase in a reply to anyone (except to convince people - good context). 4) Middle school years were interesting schedule wise. I enjoyed school and doing well, participating, taking up responsibility/roles etc. Amma would wake me up in the morning, shower (sometimes we settled on a bargain), she'd comb my hair and with a shirt, skirt, tie, belt, socks and black polished shoes and a heavy bag - we were ready to conquer the day. Amma would come down with me daily to cross the road and wait till the bus came. That's were I'd meet, Garima and Reeta aunty daily (her mom) and began our friendship :) I'd be back from school, change, eat and get back to STUDYING?! voluntarily. I enjoyed going through the diary with homework tasks or revise what we learnt in class. Made me feel productive. Evening would go down to play with brother or with Garima depending on what we'd planned that day during our bus ride back home. Would come back home by 8, it was always between 5-7 or 6-8pm. Extending this time by 30 minutes excited me more than I can believe now. Evening is when, appa would be back and I'd be having dinner by then, while we watched TV/news and slept. On weekends, I remember, I'd wait to start having my lunch around 1:30 as that's when "Karishma ka Karishma" came on TV and would go to amma's room where she was sleeping and watch that and then from 2-2:30 watch Kya Mast Hai Life (loved this) and quietly switched it off and came out to play with aadarsh. I still don't know why I didnt watch these in the TV in the hall or why I had to wait to have my lunch at that time (something with amma sleeping helped -- in the case that I might have to leave out some vegetables I didn't like having). 5) When I was younger (primary school years) and during a visit to Chennai, appa once asked Sruthi and I if we wanted to go to the beach at 5/6am. I was fascinated by the idea (not the beach, or the timing) but that appa wanted to do something with me and asked me if I wanted to join. I remember waking up really early, taking an auto and going Marina beach. We went near the water and it was a beautiful sight. Not many people around and just us three. Appa and kids. That's where I remember my chappal or maybe sruthi's floating away. There was a sudden rush of feeling scared since something we owned was going away + the risks of going to get it (I'll admit I tried and didn't think about the depth of the water/waves). Then a fisherman uncle as I want to call him - went into to get that chappal for us. I was SO SO THANKFUL and amazed that he'd do that for us. Now that I share this, I realise it was sruthi's chappal as I clunched on to mine harder. 6)  One of the things I maintained for many years was that I didn't like when Appa went on office trips. I believed that he went on those trips because I 'allowed' him. He'd ask me and obviously first choice is no but a small little explanation and I'd let him go for no more than 2 days (anything longer was only allowed counting flight hours). Now I'm aware it wasn't my permission as much as his convincing but now also I'd like if and push that they go through me (they do). The last permission I refused might've been me saying - Jakarta?! I don't want to move there and leave Delhi (I'd finally settled after 7 years) but same year we moved to Mumbai.... Another example with trips is that on one particular instance, I didn't want appa to travel. He was going to Mumbai and we were in Bangalore at the time and he said he'd go and come back the same day. I thought my crying made that happen (I really thought I influenced him a lot) but its something I didn't believe. He said he'd be back at 8pm and I remember standing in front of the clock staring at the wall for it to turn 8. It was the very first time I saw the hour hand in a clock move (Was told you cannot see it move as obvious as a minute hand). And to seeing appa at 8 - I thought that was magic. When I was younger, I refused to go to sleep when asked/earlier - purely because I hadn't seen appa that day. I disliked eating without him and sleeping without seeing him. Amma would push to go to sleep and I'd give in and do first class acting of closing my eyes if amma opened the door (I'd flinch my eyes because of the light so she always knew) but I thought I'd fooled her. I'd wait for appa to come and wish goodnight even if sleeping and acted like I was woken up by him (had to sell the story). 7) I remember vividly telling amma (was very very young) denying paruppu saadham once. I don't know why or how that when I said so and she didn't push me (it gets mixed with rice that she thinks I didn't know). Around the time is also when I remember I didn't like milk very much (especially the end part/last few sips). I'd drink 3/4 and on the pre-text of washing the glass, would throw rest of the paal. Again, thought I was SLY as a fly. But I am very very nervous doing something  like this so when appa called/saw me, I freaked out. Either he guessed or I owned up to it and we made a deal to not tell amma (I am sure this was broken from his end). 8) I wanted glasses, braces, to have a fractured arm/leg. Don't question me on these. I only got to try amma's glasses from now and then but she would not allow. I also wanted bangs (flicks, what it was called then) but had no knowledge of hair type/style. I tried to cut a small part over a period of days thinking its not obvious and would pin them so amma didn't see and when she asked - I said its new hair growing. Don't laugh. Now I am a MUCH MUCH better liar - to the extent that I'd like the opposite person to figure out I am lying sometimes. 9) I loved wearing heels. Its not the height or design but the sound they make. So, more than heels, LOVED wooden floors. I wanted them so I could wear heels and keep walking back and forth and feel like an office woman giving presentations/writing on whiteboards (also, my favourite thing when I went to appa's office). I remember I had a Barbie set I think (Heels + jewellery) - I thought jewellery sucked in design/flashy but heels I wore over stairs as the next best thing to hear the sound. But I didn't use it often because it was pink. 10) I remember the first time I was introduced to English songs and it was Love Story & Tik Tok. I didn't know where to hear it but wrote down lyrics from what my friends sang and daily night would read and memorize the lyrics with aadarsh. He picked up tik tok faster even. This was pre-youtube so the English song I discovered by myself was Ibiza because it was on our itunes on a Sony Vaio laptop. (I used youtube AFTER aadarsh who used it before me in Vietnam). - I'd shared that I like getting gifts under the pillow. For NY's once, aadarsh had Rs 50 and we went to a store and he asked for Rs 20 more from appa because we were at a store and I'd mentioned I liked a notebook that had a button to open and close. I knew he was getting it for me but wanted to get after I sat in the car and called appa to come to the store. That morning I woke up to aadarsh eagerly waiting for me to be up and said look under the pillow - and there he had kept the notebook that he bought with the money he'd saved for me. - Aaadarsh, when he was younger had a phase with hearing problem when we had ENT visits and hearing tests. I am not good with anyone close visiting the doctor for anything more than what's a normal fever/cold. ENT was a fancy name and hearing that he has fluid in his head for which he'd need surgery, was not a good news. I remember rushing home, sitting on the study table where I had a small glass ganesha idol (I won this in a Tumbola - Jaldi 5 contest) and I sat in front of the idol - daily for weeks praying that I don't want him to have surgery. After a few weeks when the doctor said, the fluid reduced and he doesn't need surgery - I went to say thanks and never made a wish after. - Aadarsh calls me Akka. He's seldom called/used my name in a sentence. I can't imagine him saying Pavi. But when he was about 3-5 years, my favourite & precious gift is him writing - Happy Birthday, Akka with amma holding his hand and finding that in the morning. However, the habit to call me 'Akka; stuck because I said I won't talk to him if he doesn't call me akka. This tactic doesn't work now :/ - My most lasting impact on him was when I was disappointed at something aadarsh did/said (not acceptable behaviour) and I said I wouldn't talk. I didn't and just when I was to give up (I can't stay mad at him), he'd gone crying to amma and appa asking them to convince me to speak with him. He literally hugged it out with us both making promises. - I learn better when I teach aadarsh. I've taught him grade 10 math, economics etc in grade 5 to help me learn. But grade 11 and me struggling with physics was an interesting experience. I was trying to teach him different types of energy (Kinetic, potential etc) and was highlighting the differences when aadarsh drew something he learnt at school that explained the concepts better. Here's my understanding of Potential Energy (imagining his drawing, a stick figure - moving from atop a cliff to the bottom has displayed potential energy. Not sure who can confirm this for me but at the time, what he taught me helped me manage that unit test.

[harrykane2020]

Massage Marketing: 6 Strategies to Stand Out

According to the New Global Wellness Institute research, the worldwide wellness push is growing at an all-time high historic rate and is now a $4.2 trillion global industry.

A 건마 massive share of the wellness puff includes daub therapy, sports smooth and physiotherapy. In fact, research estimates that daub therapy was an $18 billion industry in 2018 according to the IBIS World Industry Report.

Opening a smooth matter is an risk-taking venture filled gone a lot of opportunities to backing those who compulsion smear therapy to grant a healthy mind, body and soul. An important strategy to do and sticking together customers includes strategic and operating smooth backing. Jumping straight into advertising can be expensive and hiring a assert resource can furthermore be a omnipresent expense. Here are some tips in the region of how to most effectively facilitate your smear matter to construct credibility and locate customers.

Establish your unique brand and mean your ideal clientele When starting a smear shape you should prioritize your branding and specific recess to magnetism to your ideal clients. Elements of your brand adjoin not and no-one else your core wellness facilities, but as well as your logo, personality, sky of voice and personal savings account. Its really important to locate your recess and ideal demographic first, and also make your avowal want. You should find the money for a positive answer time to learn how to effectively puff to your audience in a habit that connects their needs as soon as the facilities you have the funds for, which will in the in the back up convert them to customers.

Rebecca Bossick, Founder and Specialist Physiotherapist of Physio LDN in London, explains how she built her therapy facilities and the most in force marketing strategies for appear in hence.

I knew that in order to fabricate Physio LDN I needed to adequately comprehend my slant audience and deem my niche. In previous employments, I had specialized in elite sports physiotherapy suitably it was an obvious different. I worked contiguously taking into account an happening-and-coming graphic designer to dogfight in parable to a logo that fit my brand identity and ideal client base. I knew I wanted to be a sleek, objector brand taking into account a protester receive concerning acclaimed physio services such as prehab, rehab and rub, she says. The biggest learning curve has been conformity that Physio LDN doesnt craving to cater to everyone, its innocent sufficient to have a bay and fasten to what youcoarsely speaking best at.

Website, branding and copy should concentrate on your demographic Your website is certainly important for your brand and helps you make your online presence. Your website should append occurring your logo, brand personality, and of course, should bring out your rub and wellness services in a compelling and determined quirk. Its with impactful to declare you will epoch to optimize your website copy in a habit that emotionally connects to your recess and keeps the reader engaged passable to available you through a web form or phone call. You may problem to deem hiring a copywriter as a resource, especially for powerful language, optimized navigation, and keywords to use that will previously taking place origin traffic and patient conversions.

Implement digital SEO for your website to boost traffic Search engine optimization (SEO) is the complete important to goal traffic to your website, which in approach, will bring foot traffic in your door. When potential customers are searching online for daub therapy or physiotherapy and sports daub, you ideally throbbing to pop uphill in those online searches as a local move. You can message you will online courses to learn the basics of SEO such as Udemy and depending around what web platform you use, there are step-by-step SEO optimization tools such as Yoast that can backing you. When the era is right and you have the budget, hiring an SEO and digital publicity specialist can be certainly indispensable.

Founder of Wild Rose Eastern Medicine in Portland, OR, Kaisa Jones, told us how important it is to prioritize SEO for your website. I didnt operate how important SEO was gone I launched my website a year ago. However, I realized the platform I chose wasnt suitable for SEO and I was getting unconditionally tiny website traffic which was impacting my issue. I am now upsetting my website to a platform that will meet the expense of admission me to optimize my SEO. I as well as now have a resource to abet me when my SEO strategy. She add-on explains that she is using this opportunity to rebrand in a habit that will profit more specific approaching the clientele she would taking into account to treat.

As you update your website for SEO, its in addition to agreed important to create determined your website is optimized for mobile by now suitably many people searching for local matter listings are around-the-go.

Be fresh not far and wide off from the subject of social media to vibes and progression your online community When you set happening social media pages for your smooth influence, you can go ahead your online community in a utterly humanizing habit. Channels plus Instagram and Facebook agree to in you to melody your brand personality even if communicating directly behind your potential patients. Its important to accumulation thought-out, unique content and engage bearing in mind your online community through observations, messages, contests and promotions. Social media is a courteous habit to modernize your comply, profit more website and foot traffic and even begin building an email list.

Bossick highlights the importance of social media authenticity and connection along amid your clients. I managed my own Instagram platform from the begin as I wanted it to have my own voice and appearance, she says. I manipulation my ably-known clientele as they are often to your liking to statute a photo or five!

ClassPass provides ventilation When you member a wellness marketplace you emphasis your situation to customers that might not locate you otherwise.

Classpass has been impressive! When you entre a adding issue I deeply manage to pay for advice offering sessions concerning ClassPass, Jones explains. I will designate 30-minute treatments and assuage on the customer comes in to visit us, we can continue discussing how else we can then them.

Bossick had linked sentiments. Patient numbers speedily grew and I was able to recruit five added therapists. I knew that I needed to takeover any spare slots that we had in order to save Physio LDNs therapists conscious and thankfully I was contacted by ClassPass at just the right era. ClassPass has allowed us to fill daily spaces bearing in mind 30-minute sports smear, cupping, acupuncture and assisted stretching sessions.

Network behind new health practitioners in your area for referrals Many doctors, chiropractors and beast therapists recommend rub therapy as allocation of a holistic treatment scheme, as a upshot its impactful to network taking into account than this health and wellness community. Many states furthermore own taking place insurance coverage for facilities following daub and eastern medicine treatments, therefore its serious to become a local medical insurance coverage referral. Jones told us that she receives a lot of patients through insurance coverage listings.

Bossick explained that then she honed in considering suggestion to her recess and opened her first location, she began networking as soon as local medical and healthcare professionals and the sporting elite.

Building a daub shape is an thrill-seeking venture when broad opportunity in the health and wellness make public. When you construct your protection aspire its important to assert your unique brand and hone in upon your ideal clientele. Once you set uphill that commencement for your business, you can use your brand and take objective audience to commencement a professional website, allocate SEO best practices, amend your online community through social media.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: A service roller coaster: Review of SriLankan Airlines business class on the A330-300

TPG Rating

75 100

Pros

Very good seat; great food; cheap price in miles.

Cons

Inconsistent service; expensive and very slow Wi-Fi.

15/20 Ground Experience

25/30 Cabin + Seat

10/15 Amenities + IFE

17/20 Food + Beverage

8/15 Service

SriLankan Airlines is a small carrier with just 26 aircraft in its fleet, so it sometimes gets overlooked. But its a member of the Oneworld alliance with British Airways, American Airlines and 10 other major carriers, so it was high time we gave Sri Lankas flag carrier a whirl.

Its direct flight between London Heathrow (LHR) and Colombo (CMB) is a great way to get to Sri Lanka using Avios or other Oneworld miles like American Airlines. And Colombo is also a great jumping-off point to nearby destinations such as the Maldives. Flying through Colombo is also a good way to score phenomenally cheap tickets in premium classes, such as Emirates First.

Ultimately, this SriLankan flight ended up below the 79-point average score of our long-haul business-class reviews. The airline delivered a great food experience and did relatively well on the ground, but couldnt keep up in the service department.

In This Post

Booking

TPG used just 42,500 American Airlines AAdvantage miles to book a one-way business-class ticket from Male, Maldives, to London via Colombo. The other obvious way to book the flight would be with Avios.

Related: Heres why you should care about British Airways Avios

Round-trip cash tickets in business class from Colombo to London, and vice versa, averaged the equivalent of $3,500 in March and April.

Ground Experience

TPG Rating

15/20

4R-ALO

Tail

4yr

Age

13:01

Departure

11h 26m

Duration

As I approached the airport in a taxi, I noticed a sign for business-class passengers pointing off to the left of the main road into the airport. It was marked Silk Route, the name SriLankan gives the ground experience for its business-class passengers.

The cab pulled up outside and staff immediately brought up trolleys to take my bags to the terminal. There was a security check to get inside the building. All bags were scanned and people had to walk through metal detectors as an extra security measure. My name was then checked off a physical passenger manifest and I was led to one of two check-in desks, which were both empty. There was a huge seating area with tables and chairs.

I went out into the main terminal, walking past the main check-in desk on my way. I noticed there was a dedicated Sri Lankan business-class desk here too, which was also for Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire elite members, and a second priority check-in lane for Oneworld Ruby members.

The lines at immigration were short and I headed into the main airside departure hall. The airport is actually quite fun, with a row of over-the-top souvenir shops besides the more typical international duty-free options.

There were two lounges I was eligible to use: the Serenediva for Oneworld Sapphire members, and the superior Serendib for business-class passengers and Oneworld Emerald members. I checked out the more basic lounge first, which was small, drab, windowless and rather depressing. It also had poor food offerings although at 11 a.m. they were between meals, according to a sign.

The Serendib is more impressive. Its brighter, with runway views through large windows. The greeting at the door was welcoming and I was offered a 20-minute complimentary massage.

There are plenty of seating areas, and although the lounge was busy, it still had plenty of free chairs.

There are two showers in the mens bathroom and the facilities were clean.

The food was varied, with local, Asian and Western options. I tried some of the local offerings butter chicken, chili poppadoms and vegetable biryani. They were excellent.

I was called for the spa treatment Id booked and asked if I wanted a foot massage. I didnt ask about other options, but the lady sitting next to me was getting a back massage.

Im glad I took them up on the massage. The treatment was fantastic, using oils and reflexology techniques, and I even got a little pot of ayurvedic balm as a gift on my way out. The spa is actually a weird little box of a room with two chairs, but it really did the trick.

Overall the lounge was a great experience, even if it was a little rough around the edges. The quality of the food, the charming staff and the fun treatment carried the day.

It was a five-minute stroll down to Gate 12 where the A330-300 was waiting. Full security is carried out at each gate, and there wasnt much time to wait as I was one of the last to reach the waiting area. Boarding began around 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time of 12.50 p.m. A separate channel for business class led to door 1L first on the left and straight into the biz cabin.

SriLankan is among the airlines that give their airplanes names; the Airbus taking us to London was a four-year-old jet named City of Senkadagalapura, a UNESCO World Heritage Site also known as the Sacred City of Kandy

Cabin and Seat

TPG Rating

25/30

1-2-1

Configuration

21

Width

2

Lavs

Flight attendants, decked out in blue saris with a peacock-feather motif, welcomed me and pointed me to my seat.

The business cabin of SriLankans A330-300s is arranged in seven rows of four seats in a 1-2-1 reverse-herringbone configuration. The center pair of seats are angled into each other and are better for a couple, but you have to lean forward to see each other.

This is a much better business-class product than on SriLankans smaller A330-200s, which have three rows of seats in 2-2-2 configuration, meaning not everybody has direct aisle access.

On the A330-300s, seats are upholstered in a teal-colored leather with a grey/beige headrest, which I thought I would hate after researching the cabin ahead of the flight. However, the seat actually looks quite smart; the photos I had seen made it look cheaper than it did in real life.

Mine was 3K, a right-hand window seat.

There is ample leg room, with a seat pitch of 78 inches. The seat is comfortable with plenty of padding.

At shoulder level, there is a reading light, IFE control panel, USB and universal power outlet, plus a seat-control panel.

The tray table extends from the console at the side of the seat and swings out in a folded position. It can then be folded out to double in size. Its not huge, but comfortably fits a 15-inch Macbook.

The area above where the table folds away is the only significant flat surface, and there are two other small storage areas one underneath this console and one by the footwell for storing magazines. There is also an armrest that must remain stowed for taxi, takeoff and landing.

The seat extends into a fully flat position for sleeping. When you lie down, your feet tuck into the footwell underneath the seat in front. No mattress pad is provided.

There are two toilets at the front of the cabin for the sole use of business-class passengers. They are run-of-the-mill bathrooms but with hand wash, hand cream and mouthwash.

Amenities and IFE

TPG Rating

10/15

15in

Screen

120

Movies

50

TV Shows

No

Live TV

Yes

Tailcam

A soft and good-quality pillow was on my seat when I arrived. Shortly after sitting down, the crew handed out a blanket, which was thin but very soft and felt high-quality.

They also handed out an Aigner-branded amenity kit containing toothbrush and toothpaste, lip balm, moisturizer, tissues, a hairbrush, hand sanitizer and earplugs.

A separate pack of SriLankan-branded socks and a good-quality eye mask were left at the seat.

Headphones were hanging on a small hook on the seat. They carried the SriLankan logo and seemed a bit beaten up but they worked OK, although they were not noise-cancelling, which has become a business-class benchmark.

Wi-Fi was available on board but it kept dropping out during the flight and cost a hefty $40 for full-flight coverage, with a usage cap of only 400MB. The performance of the Wi-Fi was so bad that every attempt I made to test the speed failed.

The IFE screen was a good size at 15.4 and operated by touchscreen or by the handheld control device. There were over 50 TV shows, 120 movies, audio shows, a moving map and front- and downward-facing live cameras.

Food and Beverage

TPG Rating

17/20

2

Meals

Piper-Heidsieck Cuve Brut

Champagne

Yes

Dine on Demand

Shortly after reaching my seat, I was offered pre-departure beverages (orange juice, water and Champagne) and hot towels.

Lunch orders were taken before departure and the lunch service began in earnest just 30 minutes into the flight.

I chose the Arabic mezze starter which included muhammara, tabouleh, dolmade and labneh. It was fresh and delicious, the perfect way to kick off the proceedings.

For the main course, the crew recommended the signature Sri Lankan-style chicken curry which was served with tempered beetroot, bitter gourd mallung, vegetable cutlet, and steamed basmati rice. It was exceptional, with delicious and subtle spices and good accompaniments, save for the bitter gourd mallung which was way too bitter for me (the warning was in the name). I washed this down with an Argentinian Sauvignon Blanc.

After clearing the main, the crew brought a cheese tray, which was still wrapped in cling film and a little sad, but the accompanying fruit plate had fat chunks of pineapple, papaya and watermelon and was juicy and perfect after the curry.

A trolley was then brought though the cabin with brandies and dessert wines, chocolate Sacher torte, and tea and coffee served out of beautiful silver jugs.

It didnt stop there the meal closed with a choice of sweet treats.

The menu stated that dine-on-demand was possible, although it looked like most everyone in the cabin took their food immediately because of the time of departure, but it was handy to know about the other option on a flight of almost 12 hours.

For the second meal, I chose the vegetable kottu roti, a spicy shredded roti dish with dal, which was tasty if heavy. The fresh fruit it came with was a good antidote to that heaviness.

Service

TPG Rating

8/15

No

Extra Pillows

No

Turndown Service

The service ended up being a letdown. It was efficient on the whole, despite regular bursts of turbulence during the flight, and the crew showed flashes of warmth and excellence which made the overall service level harder to swallow.

The crew seemed distant at times, yet somewhere over the Persian Gulf half the crew burst out of the galley, wielding a guitar, to sing (quite beautifully, including harmonies) five Christmas carols. It was five days before Christmas, after all.

The good vibes came and went, though. Sometimes the crew were happy and friendly, and at other times I felt like I was a huge inconvenience, mainly on the few occasions I was just asking for water top-ups. Watching interactions with other passengers, it felt like crew members were going through the motions with fake smiles.

When I asked around seven hours into the flight if I could have a snack (it had been five-odd hours since Id last eaten), a flight attendant barked that the next meal would be served in the next hour. This was at odds with the dine on demand stated in the menu, but all I was really after was a few nuts or something. I went back to my seat to wait for the meal, which came about 30 minutes later.

An hour before landing, I asked if there was anything sweet on board, maybe some chocolate. The response from the flight attendant was, No, I gave everything to the other passengers, and she turned to walk off. When I pushed and asked if there really was nothing at all, she rolled her eyes and said, Yes, I can get you a biscuit. Im not sure why it needed to be so difficult.

It was just so confusing to have such rudeness alongside what was often very good service, especially at mealtimes.

Overall Impression

SriLankan can often be overlooked because of its bigger Oneworld partners with far larger route networks, but its relatively new and modern A330-300s have a competitive business-class product with some real warmth and charm. Just be sure to choose the 300 model over the smaller A330-200 with the older business class.

It is the service that was inconsistent here, but had that been better, I would have felt very positively about the experience.

I cant imagine Colombo is the most efficient place to transit though, so I would probably choose the big hubs of the Middle East to make connections unless the timing of flights really worked out. But as a way to get to and from Sri Lanka, I would be willing to give SriLankan another go and pray for a happier experience in what is otherwise a good seat with great food.

All photos by the author.

Arplis - News source https://arplis.com/blogs/news/a-service-roller-coaster-review-of-srilankan-airlines-business-class-on-the-a330-300

[bi-dazai]

dress design for everything you do

if youre seeing this on your dash, this probably wont make much sense. its for a fic im writing called everything you do. i havent posted it yet, i just need to post my reference design post so i dont lose it. ill edit this post to link the fic when i post it.

so i was initially going to look around various couture brands and oscars red carpet looks for a single dress to link, but unfortunately the specifc dress i was thinking of doesnt seem to exist in an actual couture brand physical form. since i wanted to have all the ideas for this dress in a visual reference form to describe and there was literally none, ive had to indulge my inner stylist and design dazai’s dress myself. 

1) firstly, some general style references. dazai probably would have bought this from dior, terani, or jovani since those are the main style and shape references ive pulled, so its designed kinda like it could be believed as a design from one of those brands.

2) i had to take in the way an amab nb person not on HRT would have to hide and embellish certain areas to pass as feminine and to hide dazai’s scars. aspects of this show in these details:

- the choker hides the adam’s apple (and the hanging scars), an idea found in flyby’s fic that i absolutely loved. flyby used a ribbon as a choker, which i thought was super cute but i didnt use 1) because it would be copying and 2) i dont think it would work with the rest of the look

- the hairstyle is still short but curled into 1920s remniscent waves. its basically a more feminine bisexual version of dazai’s canon mess of curls/waves (if he looked after them hed def be a 3a, i assure you), which is already a pretty bisexual cut so that didnt need too much effort

- the dress’ shoulders dont puff up, however are still vaguely angular which works towards a more androgynous upper shape. i liked the colour and open back of charlize theron’s 2019 oscars dress (plus her hairstyle was actually just converted into a curlier form for dazai’s look) but those puffy shoulders...i mean i hated it as a look in general but it especially wouldnt have worked here.

- dazai wears a bra with very thick padding to give him basically aa-b cup breasts. this would have shown through the jovani dress, and in a silk only version still would have shown through. generally if you already have breasts you put clear pasted covers on your nipples for these sheer tops and youre good to go, however since dazai would have been using a bra to essentially fake breasts, a bra would have been obvious through a clear material like silk or tulle. so the satin underlay (which can also create a beautiful effect with the satin being a slightly darker shade of blue)

- as a rule, you really cannot wear flats or low heels with a long formal dress. dazai isn’t particularly tall (some people may be shocked to learn that the height difference between him and chuuya is nowhere near as major as its made out to be), however he’s still going to be elevated above the crowd in heels no matter what. and hes also quite lanky! there are ofc beautiful tall ladies out there and thats literally not an issue, but here dazai wants to be gorgeous but not a beaming light - the mission technically isnt seduce chuuya, it’s a stealth mission. hence 3 3/4 heels.

3) ive split this into several parts. these include the top front, top back, and skirt. usually these will have multiple references in terms of colour and shape.

4) i refer to the satin just as satin throughout this post, but its actually specifically charmeuse satin, specifically just a few shades darker than this:

i also mention silk. i mean specifically very very thin transparent silk called chiffon. something along the colour of this (no photo since the website wont let me steal their photos.

4) why blue? no longer human is blue. thats it.

---

so. my research process was this: i looked through various couture runways and oscars red carpet looks from the past few years of fashion from various designer brands like dior, terani, cynthia rowley, judy gao, elie saab, etc. i mainly focused on looks using the colour blue on moderately pale to pale models and celebrities.

the dress i ended up with most resembles terani 1611M0635. notable differences include a slightly different shade of blue, a less sheer top section made of a thin but opaque slightly darker blue satin underlay with lighter blue silk instead of beaded jewels, and a different style of skirt. the “belt” is also darker and satin in my design.

i ended up sketching my design for the entire look on a fashion sketch model i pulled from the internet. my drawing skills are not great so my apologies there. ive also pulled the saturnalia sapphire earrings from rodrigo otazu as well as designed my own simple choker, of dark dark blue velvet laden with pale sapphires the same blue as the saturnalia. head to the link and the third picture is a model wearing the earrings. 

so here’s my sketch design (btw sketch models tend to be elongated for some reason lol). the shoes at the back are seen because i need to show the back, but the actual dress flows over them.

the shape of the top front and the sleeves was taken from the above jovani 1611M0635. the difference is that the colour would be more this, and as i mentioned it would be a satin underlay with silk over the top which would drape into a cape at the back (ill get to that).

charmeuse satin colour:

i modelled the split at the front after the split in this image. i wont give the source because its for a cheap formal dress site which i refuse to promote in any way shape or form - usually if a dress like this is less than $150 its made of cheap material, the stitches are dodgy, and it will be v uncomfy. as you can see the top of this dress is very obviously detailed with cheap and scratchy looking lace. however the way it falls at the bottom is a fantastic reference, hence why i used it.

the shoes i chose are mostly ebiza in black by badgley mischka. the most notable difference is that i added a circlet loop at the ankle (like these) and full support at the back of the heel (like these, but without the detailing). the other difference is that i gave them red underneath. it looks like a weird sandal version of louboutins (if i was a real designer and tried to do this i would be sued to hell and back by louboutin lol), but its meant to be a subtle call to chuuya’s ability. chuuya also wears a touch of blue. both of these are meant to tie each other colour-wise.

the cape at the back descends from the shoulders. the shape is similar to the cape of this oscar de la renta wedding gown on the right. on dazai’s dress its silk and blue.

the back skirt basically looks like this back of the jovani dress ive used, but with the way the red dress’ skirt falls at the bottom as well. it’s made of the satin from the underlay at the top.

[tripstations]

5 beautiful destinations Pakistanis can travel to on a budget

From island escape­s, Easter­n Europe­an marvel­s and South-East Asian deligh­ts, inspir­e your inner wander­lust on a budget­

PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/GIRL WITH THE GREEN PASSPORT/ESLIMAH/AYESHA OMAR

KARACHI: The global travel industry is growing and it’s growing fast. Not only that, more people are travelling now than ever before, thanks to cheaper flights and the ease of planning and booking a trip.

Add to this the new batch of travel bloggers on Instagram and you’ve got hundreds of people jetting off to places they had never heard of before. After all, it’s a most human thing to explore new horizons.

And statistics don’t lie. The travel and tourism sector grew more in 2018 than all other economic sectors, adding a record $8.8 trillion to the world’s combined Gross Domestic Product – up from $8.3 trillion in 2017. It created some 319 million new jobs as well, according to Forbes.

While Pakistan is expected get higher numbers of tourists thanks to the government’s support, what about Pakistanis wanting to go abroad? Everyone is surely feeling the rupee’s present standing against the dollar and this can make travel for Pakistanis at home very expensive.

But don’t worry, we have you covered. Here are our recommendations for some pretty lust-worthy destinations across the globe that will allow you to indulge your wanderlust without draining your pockets. Bon voyage!

Istanbul, the transcontinental escape

Turkey really offers the best of both worlds. Straddling Europe and Asia, its capital Istanbul is hailed as one of the greatest cities in the world with lots of history, heritage, culture and beauty to offer. Not to mention, the Turkish and Pakistanis love each other!

A single entry visa will cost you around Rs8,500 and flight tickets will be roughly Rs80,000 return during peak holiday seasons. Decent 3-star hotels are abundant, right next to the exquisite Sultan Ahmet Mosque. And then, there is the AirBnB option.

Best places to go: Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Dolmabahce Palace, Taksim Square…need we go on?

Maldives – the water wonderland 

This island nation is the picture of paradise. Think bungalows hovering over turquoise waters, golden beaches and lots of scuba diving. Oh, and seriously Insta-worthy sunsets! How could you not want to travel to the Maldives?

The best thing is that this dream can be a reality because it’s surprisingly reasonable and also Muslim-friendly.

Located in the Arabian Sea, the capital Malé has a busy fish market, restaurants and shops on the main road, Majeedhee Magu, and 17th-century Hukuru Miskiy (also known as Friday Mosque) made of carved white coral. No wonder it’s a honeymoon staple.

Cheapest flight: Around Rs60,000.

Eastern Europe – the new it place 

You may not think Eastern Europe is cheap area but it actually is! If you want a unique travel experience that truly captivates, this entire region is the place for you.

Take Romania for example. Whatever you think this country is, it probably isn’t. The Transylvanian region, in particular, defies expectations with its quaint medieval towns and spectacular Carpathian mountain range. Many travel bloggers reiterate that it’s a beautiful country with great food and friendly people. The cheapest flight is around Rs60,000 (not to mention once you’re there, eating and sleeping is great value!), making it one of the most inexpensive countries to travel to for Pakistanis.

And, can we please talk about Ukraine. It’s on every traveller’s bucket list as of late and there are raving reviews about it. With flights starting from around Rs50,000, Ukraine is possibly one of the cheapest options for Pakistanis wanting to go beyond the Middle East.

Hotspots: The coastal city of Odessa on the Black Sea is a favourite, while the beautiful city of Lviv (close to the Polish border) is widely tipped as offering some of the best values for money in Europe.

5 Muslim countries that are trending holiday destinations this summer

Azerbaijan and Georgia – easy on the eyes and the wallets

View this post on Instagram

I burnt my hand in Georgia. . I was rushing to catch the 10 am Mashrukta (intercity mini-bus) from Tbilisi to Signagi. When I reached the bus stop, there was a 10-minute window. I bought some bananas for breakfast & coffee in a flimsy, small cup from a tiny window in a kiosk. I got into the minibus with low roof, my back bent, backpack on, bananas, wallet & phone in one hand and coffee cup in another. As I sat amongst two strangers, and tried to adjust my butt, I shook the coffee cup, it spilled a bit on my hand, it was so hot that in within a second, my instincts had me drop the entire thing, and then it spilled it on my right palm all the way to my right thigh, splashes on left hand; and couple splashes on the stranger sitting next to me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I was first embarrassed on my clumsiness, then guilty for being late & rushing in the first place and then in pain. I had burnt my right palm and it was BURNING. The bus had started. It was a 2-hour ride to this small city, Signagni, reputed to be the city of love. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And in burning pain I thought, holy mother of shits I need to see a doctor and finding a doctor in a small city I’m heading to for the first time! I was sure I’m gonna get huge blisters all over my palm and then I won’t be able to touch or hold anything and then the rest of the trip will be a waste. All thoughts crossed my head in the next 15 minutes. I felt like crying. The only thing that comforted me was the reminder that I was medically insured for such accidents, courtesy @jgi.pk (not an ad). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Anyway, I kept a bundle of tissue paper soaked in water, between the palm of my hands, the entire journey. Suggested by the stranger next to me. And that did relieve me to some extent. I reached Signagi, the burning had calmed & I didnt feel the need to see a doctor. I looked at my coffee-stained dress, felt sad; but then I looked at the terra cotta roofs, amidst lush green hills and cobblestone streets of Signagi and I forgot the incident. I headed ahead to explore this tiny quaint town & make the most of my day! Ever spilled coffee & burnt yourself? Outfit courtesy: @qnhstore #Signagi #Georgia

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Travel Lifestyle (@girlwithgreenpassport) on Jun 11, 2019 at 8:52am PDT

Speaking of Eastern Europe, take Georgia for example. Where is it? Right next to the latest Pakistani travellers favourite, Azerbaijan. So  consider going to both countries together and explore this stunning region.

Georgia small country in the Caucasus – one you’ll probably be hearing more about it in the years to come. It all starts in the eccentric capital of Tbilisi. From there, be sure to explore the stunning Caucasian Mountain range, dip your feet in the Black Sea, and visit ancient hilltop monasteries (a few of them are inside caves!) all over the country.

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Welcome to Georgia. Sitting at the crossroads of Asia & Europe, but unfairly, the less talked about country, compared to its neighbouring Turkey. It swept me off my feet with its expansive sights, sounds, experiences and tastes. All of which, I had a heart full of in my 10 days. Tbilisi, the beating heart of the country sits in the lap of lush green hills. It is dotted with old Eurasian architecture on the slopes and decorated with modern and artistic glass shaped buildings and bridges in the centre. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Three hours north of the capital & I was in the midst of the Caucasus mountain. The tapestry changed. The little town of Kazbegi welcomed me first with its chilly mountain air & then warmed me with the hospitality. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When I drove 2 hours east of Tbilisi, I was in Kaheti, the wine region of the country. Ask a local and they show you with pride, their traditional winemaking methods. With a curious set of eyes and ears, I learnt all I could about 8000-year-old Georgian winemaking tradition. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Three hours west of Tbilisi, I reached one of the oldest cities in Europe, Kutaisi. The highlight was the locals I met; they were even more friendly and had all the time in the world for conversations. They enjoyed learning about Pakistan from me as I did about Georgia from them. Nature swayed me even more, as I visited the canyons nearby Kutaisi. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The only thought I had throughout my visit, is that this country deserves more limelight than it has! There is so much I want to pour out, but I gotta save some for upcoming posts. Are you guys with me? Pls let me know what do you want me to tell about the country? . : Old town Tbilisi (picture taken via self timer & remote)

A post shared by ANAM HAKEEM

Travel Lifestyle (@girlwithgreenpassport) on May 28, 2019 at 5:10am PDT

As for Azerbaijan, the capital Baku is an obvious must.  There’s so much you can pack in a few days, including the ultra-modern Heydar Aliyev Center.

Flights: Cheapest air-tickets to either or of these countries are around Rs45,000, usually with one stop somewhere in the Middle East.

Vietnam – a different kind of South East Asia

Forget Thailand and Sri Lanka right now because Vietnam is all that it’s about these days. And for good reason too. From the beautiful chaos of Hanoi’s Old Quarter to the serene Hoi An riverfront adorned with coloured lanterns, this is truly a country full of contrasts.

But Vietnam is not for the faint-hearted. If adventure is what you’re about, be prepared for crazy weather cycles and off-beat exotic scenery. Alas, it’s also among the cheapest places in Asia: eat local and you’ll struggle to spend more than a few hundred rupees per meal. A round trip ticket is around Rs87,000.

What to do: There are a myriad of pristine beaches, such as Mango Bay and Halong Bay. Don’t forget to explore rice-farming mountains where you can go caving. Adventure sports on the beaches are also a must.

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[intothespideyverses]

Every single second of media coverage on this white woman gets me heated. White people are so fucking transparent and its not even funny. The worst part is that they don't even seem to realize how obvious they're being lmao. I have seen the UGLIEST responses to this case, including but not limited to: "Blonde Lady is the most innocent victim of police brutality I have ever seen" -the same demon attorney that represented Philando Castiles family.......like are you FUCKING kidding me. And even then are you seriously telling me the little girl sleeping on her grandma's couch is less innocent than this broad? Sounds about white. "This isn't a race thing, stop attacking us and start attacking the police. They can come after any of us now" -some headass on twitter. Uhh WHAT? So back when it was just as negroes getting shot at it was ok but now that ur cousin got killed you care. Ok lol. Sir you know damn well you were saying #bluelivesmatter a year ago "UM WHERE IS BLM WHY ARENT THEY TALKING ABOUT THIS HUH??? SEE!! THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT THEMSELVES!!!!! >:(" lmaooo!!!! black folk were on this case before the news was bitch! its BLACK PEOPLE protesting for this girl rn. Yts continue to sit on their ass, and this is one of their own. Pathetic lol "Stop comparing [Philando Castile and White Lady]. She was innocent and he wasnt" BYE LMAO WHAT?? He LEGALLY had a firearm, he TOLD the cop about it, and COMPLIED with orders...and lacking innocence implies you think he committed a crime....tf. Also, know what ok! We can play this game too. Homegirl shouldnt have been sneaking up on folks in the middle of the night, of course she got shot. Thats how stupid yall sound. "Black people shouldnt be mad about this, they should be happy bc now their cause is recognized" IS IT THO? IS IT REALLY? Because the world continues to be silent when we get killed by these freaks. Most of the ppl talking about this girl still think BLM is a terrorist organization lol. This helps nothing. We're gonna be mad all we want because we warned you people, you called us thugs in return, and now that its happened to one of you its getting all this fair coverage. Its ALWAYS on the news. Even the protests are being shown in a far more positive light. If this girls criminal record had beem dug up, if they had used pictures of her partying instead of her engagement photos, if the police department didnt personally apologize for this shit, I would be fine, bc this is what they do to us too. But no, through all of this, it just proves that white people CAN act with compassion for once, they just refuse to show it to us darkies :). So yeah let us be mad lol

[duaneodavila]

16 States Deliver Issue Spotter To Stop Trump’s National Emergency

(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Reading through California v. Trump, the lawsuit brought by 16 states against Donald Trump over his declaration of national emergency, feels like reading through an issue spotter on a 2L Constitutional Law exam.

That’s not to slam the work here of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra or the other 15 states joining the fight. It’s just to point out that the legal arguments against Trump are so straightforward and obvious that it doesn’t take a lot of high-level lawyering to make them. “Can Donald Trump declare a national emergency to fulfill a campaign promise?” would make a bad final exam question. You can pretty much answer it if all you read was Article I of the U.S. Constitution.

It’s a 57-page lawsuit, but the introduction contains a pretty tight summary about the sheer wrongness of Trump’s actions:

4. Use of those additional federal funds for the construction of a border wall is contrary to Congress’s intent in violation of the U.S. Constitution, including the Presentment Clause and Appropriations Clause. Such use would divert counter-drug programming funds directed to the states, and military construction funds to be spent in the states, for the nonappropriated purpose of constructing a border wall. Even if the Administration could constitutionally redirect funds toward the construction of the border wall, the Administration does not satisfy the criteria in the statutes that it invokes to enable it to do so…

6. There is also no objective basis for President Trump’s Emergency Declaration. By the President’s own admission, an emergency declaration is not necessary. The federal government’s own data prove there is no national emergency at the southern border that warrants construction of a wall. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) data show that unlawful entries are near 45-year lows. The State Department recognizes there is a lack of credible evidence that terrorists are using the southern border to enter the United States. Federal data confirm that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than are native-born Americans. CBP data demonstrate that dangerous drugs are much more likely to be smuggled through, not between, official ports of entry—rendering a border wall ineffectual at preventing their entry into this country.

7. Notwithstanding the illegality of and wholesale lack of necessity for the Emergency Declaration, the Trump Administration has expressed its intent to move quickly with the construction of the border wall. A senior advisor to the White House reportedly said the Administration will proceed with construction at a speed that will “shock” people. The thwarting of congressional intent to fund a vanity project that not only will fail to safeguard national security, but is positioned to cause significant harm to the public safety, public fisc, environment, and well being of Plaintiff States’ residents, cries out for judicial intervention.

People have been saying this since Trump’s declaration: it violates the separation of powers, it usurps Congress’s appropriations authority, there’s no evidence that there’s a “real” emergency, and the President LITERALLY ADMITS that he’s only doing this out of political expediency.

The states are not making a legally interesting argument — Trump is making the completely dumbass argument that the National Emergencies Act of 1976 supersedes the Constitution based on his say so. This isn’t a close case. This is Trump throwing feces at a laminated copy of the Constitution, versus 16 states solemnly taking out 57 wet-wipes to clean it up.

The only potential for an intellectually satisfying legal argument is over whether or not the states have standing to sue. They do, but the first 20 pages of the lawsuit are basically each state going through their arguments for standing.

Essentially, Trump’s ridiculous plan to divert money meant for drug enforcement and disaster relief is the “harm” that allows each state to sue. Standing is not going to be a particularly difficult hurdle for states to climb, given that Congress has given them money that Trump now purports to take away in order to fund his wall. It doesn’t matter if the Wall or Barrier or Fence or Human-Centipede-Obstruction is built in the states or not, the MONEY is coming from the states, over the expressed objection of Congress.

The media is desperate to find “interesting” legal issues, so you’ll hear a lot about standing and I’m sure Alan Dershowitz will stop by to say that the President can ENSLAVE #BlackLivesMatter and make them build the wall because the Thirteenth Amendment only applies to private landowners, or something. But the government’s singular argument boils down to this, which the New York Times eventually got to after worrying about standing for a few paragraphs:

Legal specialists expected the Justice Department to urge a court not to consider facts about the border or Mr. Trump’s words, but rather to defer to the president’s decision. The courts have a long history of being reluctant to substitute their own judgment for the president’s about a security threat.

That’s their argument. Don’t listen to the facts. Don’t listen to Trump’s own words. Just agree that the President can do whatever he wants if he clicks his heels and says “national security” three times.

It’s the weakest possible legal argument for the President to make. It has also 100 percent worked before and might well work again.

There is no reason to think that the Trump National Emergency will survive this lawsuit, based on any reasonable application of the law. There is every reason to believe that conservatives on the Supreme Court will authorize Trump’s actions anyway.

The Republicans did not steal a seat on the Supreme Court for nothing. They did not promote an alleged attempted rapist because he was the only person qualified for the promotion. They’ve put these people on the Court specifically for the purposes of acting as the GOP’s judicial enforcement wing.

I still have hope for… Neil Gorsuch, actually. Roberts and the rest of the conservatives go along with bigotry at nearly every opportunity, and Brett Kavanaugh is a partisan hack. But Gorsuch… that crazy coot actually seems to believe that textualism is a real thing, almost like he didn’t get the memo that this was all some game to make sure wealthy Republican men stay in power forever. The President’s actions are a point-and-click violation of the separation of powers, and Congress explicitly denied funding this construction project. I think Gorsuch might not be a solid rubber stamp here for Trump.

And since I just rested the hopes of democratic self-government on Neil Gorsuch, I’m going to go vomit.

California v. Trump

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

16 States Deliver Issue Spotter To Stop Trump’s National Emergency republished via Above the Law